Helicopter
Rescue & M.C.A. Oral questions
When
your in difficulties at sea for some reason, injured crewman,
vessel sinking, vessel on fire, vessel aground or for some other
reason, the crews of the rescue helicopters are always at hand,
it would have to be some extreme reason before they could not
come to your aid (Fog Bound)
These men risk there lives to save yours, so false alerts should
be avoided at all costs, putting out a false Mayday, could endanger
someone else life.
If another vessel puts out a Mayday and you put out a false
Mayday, and the helicopter comes to your vessel, you will land
off in court and heavily fined and probably given a prison sentence
The
initial cost of bringing a helicopter to your vessel is high,
but do not think about this cost if you need the services of the
rescue helicopter, I personnely spoke to a coastguard personnel,
who told me to tell seafarers, if you need the coastguard then
ask, thats what they are there for
A rescue helicopter has an average distance out of about
250 n.m and if there is any Oilrigs en-route, then they can stop
they to refuel, making his distance even further
Information
the rescue helicopter will require is as follows;
(1)
Position
(2) Name and registration number of vessel
(3) Nature of distress
(4) Your speed
(5) Your course
(6) The forecast in your area
(7) What radios you have onboard
(8) Do you have distress rockets/hand held flares on your vessel
Contact with the rescue helicopter is usually on Vhf 16
and his call sign will be RESCUE HELICOPTER followed by 3 numbers
(E.g.) Rescue Helicopter 137
When a helicopter comes to your assistance you should do the following
(1) Listen to the captain of the helicopters orders
(2) Speed should be between 5 - 10 knots
(3) If your engaged in fishing do not haul your nets, this slows
your vessel sheer
(4) Try and put the wind 300 off your port bow
(5) Once this achieved hold this course unless instructed to do
otherwise
(6) Clear the decks of obstacles
(7) Have men ready for the high line wire
(8) Never make the wire fast to your vessel, coil it into a plastic
basket
(9) Have 3-4 men pull on the wire and try and keep it tight
(10) Do not touch the wire till it earths in the sea, its full
of static electricity
M.C.A.
Oral exam Question
(Q)You're Skipper aboard an oil-tender and at stand-by alongside
an oilrig, when you hear a Mayday from a helicopter who has crashed
into the sea 10 miles away from you, what are you going to do?
(a)If the weather permits, then launch your fast rescue craft
(F.R.C.) and inform the oilrig that you're going to assist the
helicopter
(Q)Why are you not standing-by the oilrig, do you have
to go to a Mayday?
(a)Yes, you have to go to a Mayday, unless you're endangering
your crew and vessel, or if it's to far away, or if the On Scene
Commander (O.S.C.) has stood you down because there is enough
vessels in the area.
(Q)While your fast rescue craft (F.R.C.) are at the helicopter,
you have a major fire in the engine room and the fire has disabled
all your hydraulic system, how will you get the fast rescue craft
with the casualties back onboard your vessel?
(a)If you have no means to winch them back onboard, then
you will need to escort them back to the oilrig, where doctors
and medics will be waiting for the casualties
(Q)There is a vessel makingway coming to close to the oilrig,
and you've called them up but are not getting any response from
them, what are you going to do?
(a)Make for the vessel and while alongside them sound your
whistle several times to try and get his attention. (5 or more
short and rapid blasts which means I'm unsure of your intentions).
(Q)You are still getting no response from the other vessel,
what are you going to do?
(a)Try and nudge the other vessel with your own vessel
so it alerts someone on the vessel
(Q)The skipper of the other vessel calls you up, and says
he is sorry but his watch had fell asleep, what are you going
to do now?
(a)Take note of the vessels name and port and his registration
and log it in the Official log-book as well as making an entry
into an I.R.F. (Incident Report Form) and send it to the M.A.I.B.(Marine
Accident Investigation Branch)
Food
Hygiene - Questions associated with MGN 20 Health and Risk
Assessment
(Q) You crew are all down with food poisoning and your
the last one standing, you also ate what the others had, what
are you going to do?
(a) Stop the vessel, put up your Not Under Command lights (N.U.C.)
and put out a Mayday, if you have eaten the same food as the
rest of the crew then your going to get food poisoning also,
therefore there will be no-one to command the ship (not under
command)
(Q) You got your vessel back into harbour and your vessel was
inspected, they found cockroaches in the food-lockers, what
do you have to do next?
(a) Clean out the food lockers and dispose of them safely, then
disinfect the area with bleach to get rid of any bugs the wash
the area again with some anti bacterial cleaning agent
(Q) Do you have any documentation to fill up regarding this
incident?
(a) Yes, the M.A.I.B. Incident Report Form (I.R.F.) as well
as the Official Log Book (inspection of food and water)
(Q) How clean is your cook?
(a) Most cooks that I've seen are clean but tell him how your
cook is
(Q) How often does he clean the galley/mess deck?
(a) It should be before and after every meal
(Q) What does he clean the dining table down with?
(a) It should be with some anti bacterial disinfectant
(Q) How often does he change his dish clothes?
(a) After he has used them,,,, after every meal
(Q) How many knives does your cook have to prepare his meals
with?
(a) He should have separate knives for fresh - frozen and cooked
foods, never use the same knife for cook/frozen, frozen/fresh,
cooked/fresh
(Q) Your freezer/fridge, what temperatures are they set at?
(a) Your fridge should not be set higher than +5 degrees and
your freezer must be at least -18 degrees
(Q) You have a cooked chicken and a frozen piece of beef, what
goes on the top shelf of the fridge?
(a) The cooked chicken, you cannot put the frozen piece of beef
in the fridge or you will get cross contamination
(Q) So what are you going to do with the frozen piece of beef,
you need to defrost it?
(a) Defrost it at room temperature for 24 hours
(Q) Why should any hold be kept clean?
(a) In case you load any food substances into it (including
fishing vessels)
(Q) How do you clean your fish holds/tanks or Cargo holds?
(a) Best way is with a steam hose or a power hose
Footnote
from Author:- While at sea we went to the aid of the personnel
of the Piper Alpha Oilrig, this was a major disaster, where
167 men lost their lives, doing a risk assessment could have
prevented this from happening, you have to keep doing risk assessments
on an ongoing basis to prevent accidents like this from happening
again (HUMAN ERROR counts for most accidents)
Remember
to report any incident to the M.A.I.B. as well as your insurance
company |
