Commanding the response
Command actions on a major emergency
- Take command; raise the alarm, muster and account for every person on board.
- Assess the situation and the threat to the ship, and direct the emergency teams to their tasks.
- Contain and fight the casualty — fire, flooding or other — while keeping essential services running.
- Communicate — make the appropriate distress or urgency call, liaise with the company and authorities.
- Decide — if the ship cannot be saved, order a controlled abandonment with everyone accounted for.
SAR and pollution
- On receiving a distress, render assistance as required under SOLAS and coordinate under the IAMSAR Manual.
- Know the ship's role as an on-scene coordinator or assisting vessel, and the search patterns and communications involved.
- On a pollution incident, act on the ship's SOPEP: stop and contain the source, deploy equipment, and report as required.
- Keep a full record of times and actions for the subsequent report and any investigation.
WARNING — Keep the ship alive while fighting the casualty In most emergencies the ship must keep making power and steering while the fire or flooding is fought. The Master balances fighting the casualty against keeping the ship powered, steerable and able to be manoeuvred or abandoned.
TIP — Command steadies the ship In a crisis the ship's company takes its cue from the Master. Calm, clear, directing command turns a frightened crew into an effective one, and is worth more than any single technical action.