We are steaming north and each day the weather is getting colder. Today, we were blessed with a gentle breeze and calm seas. Yesterday, there was a fire drill along with an abandon ship drill. They are not the most exciting part of our voyage but definitely the most important of the voyage. We need to know exactly where to go and what to do in case of an emergency.
In the case of an abandon ship alarm, everyone would report to their respective life boats and rafts and prepare to abandon ship. The lifeboats on our ship come in two sizes and are painted orange to fit regulation. In each boat, there are many of different items that are necessary for the cadets and crew of the lifeboat to survive. Some of these items are a bailer, boat hook, compass, food rations, fresh water, emergency radio, flares, oars, and heaving line. In addition to lifeboats are life rafts and these rafts can be lowered over the side with ease. If our vessel were to sink, any remaining life raft canisters on board would detach automatically after reaching a certain depth. From there, they open would float to the surface.
There are more than life boats and rafts that we have on board in the case of an abandon ship. Immersion suits are issued to all the officers and crew. These suits are designed to keep someone warm and dry in case they need to enter the water. Freshmen cadets put these on and jump into the frigid December waters every year as a part of their vessel familiarization course. Similar to immersion suits, are thermal protection aids (TPA). TPAs are essentially a large solar blanket, but designed as a suit. These don’t keep the body dry but are able to provide warmth to the body while in the water. These were tried on as part of the cold water survival segment of orientation. In the rare chance of a man overboard situation our ship has a fast rescue boat. This boat can be launched quickly off the port side and sent to rescue the person in the water. Other items around the ship are life rings fitted with white flashing lights that allow them to be seen at night.
Questions:
As mentioned before that there are two different sizes of life boats. What are these two different sizes? (Hint: Size refers to the number of people each boat can hold. Also try looking in the ship schematics.)
What shade of orange are lifeboats painted?
What convention came as a result of the sinking of the RMS Titanic?
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