11.11.

EMERGENCY OPERATIONS

11.1 11.1 ORGANISATIONAL STRUCTURE AND

PLANNING
Planning and preparation are essential if personnel are to deal successfully with emergencies
on board tankers. The master and other officers should consider what they would do in the
event of various types of emergency, such as fire in cargo tanks, fire in the engine room, fire in
the accommodation, the collapse of a person in a tank, the ship breaking adrift from her berth,
the emergency release of a tanker from her berth etc.
They will not be able to foresee in detail what might occur in all such emergencies but good
advance planning will result in quicker and better decisions and a well organized reaction to
the situation.

The following information should be readily available:

  Type of cargo, amount and disposition.

  Whereabouts of other hazardous substances.

  General arrangement plan.

  Stability information.

  Fire-fighting equipment plans.

11.1.1 11.1.1 Emergency Organization

An emergency Organization should be set up which will come into operation in the event of an
emergency. The purpose of this Organization will be in each situation to:
 Raise the alarm.
 Locate and assess the incident and possible dangers.
 Organize manpower and equipment.

The following suggestions are for guidance in planning an emergency Organization,

which should cover the following four elements:

Command Center
There should be one group in control of the response to the emergency with the master or the
senior officer on board in charge. The command center should have means of internal and
external communication.

Emergency Party
This group should be under the command of a senior officer and should assess the emergency
and report to the command center on the situation, advising what action should be taken and
what assistance should be provided, either from on board or, if the ship is in port, from ashore.

Back up Emergency Party

The back up emergency party under the command of an officer should stand by to assist the
emergency party as instructed by the command center and to provide back up services, e.g.
equipment, stores, medical services including cardiopulmonary resuscitation etc.
Engineering Group
This group should be under the command of the chief engineer or the senior engineering
officer on board and should provide emergency assistance as instructed by the command
center. The prime responsibility for dealing with any emergency in the main machinery spaces
will probably rest with this group. It may be called on to provide additional manpower
elsewhere.
The plan should ensure that all arrangements apply equally well in port and at sea.

11.1.2 11.1.2 Preliminary Action

The person who discovers the emergency must raise the alarm and pass on information about
the situation to the officer on duty who, in turn, must alert the emergency Organization. While
this is being done, those on the scene should attempt immediate measures to control the
emergency until the emergency Organization takes effect.
Each group in the emergency Organization should have a designated assembly point, as
should those persons not directly involved as members of any group. Personnel not directly
involved should stand by to act as required.

11.1.3 11.1.3 Inspection and Maintenance

Fire-fighting equipment should always be ready for immediate use and should be checked
frequently. The dates and details of such checks should be recorded and indicated on the
appliance as appropriate. The inspection of all fire-fighting and other emergency equipment
should be carried out by a responsible officer, and any necessary maintenance work completed
without delay. As soon as possible after an incident there should be a thorough check of all
the equipment used. All breathing apparatus used should be checked and the bottles
recharged. Foam systems should be flushed through etc.

11.1.4 11.1.4 Training and Drills

Ship's personnel should be familiar with the theory of fire-fighting and should receive
instruction in the use of fire-fighting and emergency equipment. Practices and drills should be
arranged at intervals to ensure that personnel retain their familiarity with the equipment.
If an opportunity arises for a combined fire practice or conference with shore personnel at a
terminal the master should make an officer available to show the shore personnel the location
of portable and fixed fire-fighting equipment on board and also to instruct them on any design
features of the ship which may require special attention in case of fire.

11.2 11.2 ALARMS

11.2.1 11.2.1 Ship's Alarm Signal

Fire alarm signals or general alarm signals are to be given in case of:
  fire
  collision
  grounding
  man overboard
  major spillage of cargo liquid or release of vapor
  other emergency situations which call for emergency actions

Other important alarms:

  cargo gas alarm
  cargo system alarm
  CO2 or halon alarm
  radio alarm
  engine-room alarm
  inert-gas alarm

11.2.2 11.2.2 Fire-Fighting Equipment Plans

Fire-fighting equipment plans must be permanently displayed in prominent positions
showing clearly, for each deck, the location and particulars of all fire-fighting
equipment, dampers, controls, etc.
In all ships a duplicate set of fire control plans or a booklet containing such plans shall be permanently stored in a
prominently marked weathertight enclosure outside the deckhouse for the assistance of shoreside firefighting
personnel.
11.3 11.3 EMERGENCY PROCEDURES
All tankers should have procedures ready for immediate implementation in the event of an
emergency. The procedures must anticipate and cover all types of emergency which might be
encountered in the particular activities of the tanker. Although the main aim of the procedures
will be to respond to a fire, all other possible emergencies such as hose or pipeline bursts,
cargo overflow, pumproom flooding, men overcome by gas within tanks, breakouts of vessels,
weather or blackouts, must be covered. Similarly, while the deployment of fire-fighting
equipment will be prominent in any emergency procedures, equipment such as breathing
apparatus, resuscitation apparatus and stretchers must also be covered, together with details
of means of escape or exit.

The procedures should be familiar to the personnel involved, who should be adequately trained
and clearly understand the action they would be required to take when responding to the
emergency. This can best be achieved by regularly exercising the plan. Exercises will also
serve to highlight the need for any revisions to be made to the plan, associated emergency
procedures and further training requirements.

Care should be taken when formulating an emergency plan to ensure that procedures to alert
people or to arrange equipment do not depend too heavily on one man doing a number of
tasks simultaneously.

11.3.1 11.3.1 Fire on a tanker at sea or at anchor

Ship's personnel who discover an outbreak of fire must immediately raise the alarm, indicating
the location of the fire. The ship's fire alarm must be operated as soon as possible.
Personnel in the vicinity of the fire should apply the nearest suitable extinguishing agent to
attempt to limit the spread of the fire, to extinguish it, and thereafter to prevent re-ignition. If
they are unsuccessful, their actions should very quickly be superseded by the operation of the
tanker's emergency plan.
Any cargo, ballast, tank cleaning or bunkering operations should be stopped immediately and
all valves closed. Any craft alongside should be removed.
After all personnel have been evacuated from the vicinity, all doors, openings and tank
apertures should be closed as quickly as possible and mechanical ventilation should be
stopped. Decks, bulkheads and other structures in the vicinity of the fire, and adjacent tanks
which contain petroleum liquids or are not gas free, should be cooled with water.

The tanker should be maneuvered so as to resist the spread of the fire and allow it to be
attacked from windward.

11.3.2 11.3.2 Fire on a tanker at a terminal

If a fire breaks out on a tanker while at a terminal, the tanker must raise the alarm by sounding
the recognized alarm signal consisting of a series of long blasts on the ship's whistle, each
blast being not less than 10 seconds in duration, unless the terminal has notified the ship of
some other locally recognized alarm signal. All cargo, bunkering, or ballasting operations must
be stopped and the main engines and steering gear brought to a stand by condition.
Once the alarm has been raised, responsibility for fighting the fire on board the ship will rest
with the master or other responsible officer assisted by the ship's crew. The same emergency
Organization should be used as when the ship is at sea with an additional group under the
command of an officer or senior rating to make preparations, where possible, for disconnecting
metal arms or hoses from the manifold.
On mobilization of the terminal and, where applicable, the civil fire-fighting forces and
equipment, the master or other responsible officer, in conjunction with the professional fire
fighters, must make a united effort to bring the fire under control.

11.3.3 11.3.3 Fire or explosion on a berth

Should a fire or explosion occur on a berth, the ship or ships at the berth must immediately
report the incident to the terminal control room by the quickest possible method (VHF/UHF/
telephone contact, sounding ship's siren etc.); shut down all cargo, bunkering, deballasting and
tank cleaning operations; and drain all arms or hoses ready for disconnecting. The ships' fire
mains should be pressurized and water fog applied in strategic places. The ships' engines,
steering gear and unmooring equipment must be brought to a state of immediate readiness. A
pilot ladder should be put over on the offshore side.

11.3.4 11.3.4 Jettison of cargo

The jettison of cargo is an extreme measure justified only as a means of saving life at sea or
for the safety of the vessel. A decision to jettison cargo should therefore not be taken until all
the alternative options have been considered in the light of available information on stability
and reserve buoyancy.

If it is necessary to jettison cargo the following precautions should be taken:

 Engine room personnel should be alerted. Depending on the circumstances prevailing
at the time, consideration should be given to changing over engine room intakes from
high to low level.
 Discharge should take place through the sea valve and where possible on the side
opposite to the engine room intakes.
 All non-essential inlets should be closed.
 If discharge must be from the deck level, flexible hoses should be rigged to extend
below the water surface.
 All safety precautions relating to normal operations which involve the presence of
flammable gas in the vicinity of the deck must be observed.
 A radio warning should be broadcast.