Just curious.
I have no idea but I cant see why it would be required for those who have jobs which will never take them to sea.
I am always amazed though at the lack of preparation of those laboring on fishing and other commercial vessels. Many do not know how to swim or the most basic safety procedures. One common error is abandoning ship too soon. Sometimes the crew abandons the ship believing it is sinking and the ship later shows up deserted and still afloat. this is what probably happened in the famous case of the Mary Celeste. As long as it floats you are safest with the ship. it protactes you and makes you visible to rescuers.
I remember some news footage I saw some years ago of a fishing vessel stranded on the rocks and being pounded by the waves. The shore was quite close and the crew started to panic and jump into the water in their attempts to reach the shore. most of them were crushed and killed against the rocks. It was a very foolish decision and only those who stayed with the ship were later rescued.
There used to be a superstition among sailors that it was extremely unlucky to learn how to swim, as a result most never did. But in the modern age I’ll think you’ll find that most navys train their sailors o be quite proficent swimmers:
For what it’s worth, the flodfather served a term of duty in the US Navy aboard a fuel tanker during the Korean War, and about 20 years in the Naval Reserves afterwards. He’s a fairly poor swimmer and used to joke that this was a good thing - he had a very key interest in keeping the ship afloat.
It’s part of the training in bootcamp. You’re not taught how to swim but more like “how to stay afloat”.
I the link I posted it said 86.9% of recruits had at least third class swimming qualifications (having a look at that though 3rd class swimming qualifications are hardly that difficult to get, it’s the same level of difficulty that a 6-7 year old would have to do in swimming classes).
My father cannot swim a stroke, and he was in the Navy. That was in the late 1950s, though.
When I joined the Navy (Australian) six years ago I had to do a swimming test…10m underwater back-scull, swim 10m underwater from a diving start, 50m any stroke and tread water for 15 minutes. This test also applies to Army and Air Force members.
Well, Im about to join the Uruguayan Navy officer training program, Im taking the Seaman course in the Naval Reserve, and no one seems to worry too much about swimming.
Maybe swimming is a greatly overrated skills for sailors: fall into the water, and you are as good as dead. I dont think anyone short of an olympic swimmer could stand more than a couple of kilometers in the sea, and that is not taking hypotermia into account. A man can die from hypotermia in as little as 15 minutes, less is the water is really cold.
So, my guess is that most navies just teach you how to stay afloat and pray you get rescued soon…
A sailor fell overboard just recently on the return from the Gulf. (NYTimes Link)
Not saying he definitely survived the fall, but if he had, and could swim well, he MAY have reached the float and been found by the rescue boat. A non-swimmer would have a very tough time getting to the float, and a tough time staying above the 8 foot waves.
Sardaukar3925, you are right. If you fall overboard and nobody notices, you are a goner. Nodoby is expected to swim to a desert island unassisted. But often times people DO notice, and you only need to stay alive and afloat for maybe 20 minutes until you are picked up.
Actually, you are not “as good as dead” if you fall overboard. That eventuality depends on when and where you happen to go overboard. Two Sailors on my second ship decided to jump and attempt to swim back to Thailand. They were retrieved and sent to a land-based hospital for obvious reasons. On my first ship, one Sailor on my first ship went overboard west of North Korea during the night (IIRC) in late October. He was not rescued nor was his body recovered.
An interesting note is that the Army also requires its Soldiers to be “drown proofed.” In other words, everyone has to be able to swim at a minimal level.
I know, I am aware of at least one case in which a seaman (in a fishing ship, I think) survived by clinging to debris for several hours and then swimming ashore. However, it is a rare occurance, and the swimmer in question must be VERY good…
On the other hand, I guess every seaman should know how to stay afloat, but there is a difference between that and actually swimming.