Would/could a container ship stop for a guy drifting in the ocean?

[Jophiel]

@Colibri

Lifeboats are generally going to have sides much higher than life rafts and thus keep waves out better.

Modern container ship lifeboats look like this,and are entirely enclosed, so waves won’t enter even in high seas.

Neat, thanks. I thought maybe a raft was more stable, though I was mentally comparing it to a traditional little wooden boat.

Of course, that might not even be accurate. Everything I know about boats, I learned as a kid in my bathtub.

[NurseCarmen]

I own a large sailboat and I first sailed solo when I was five. I belong to a bunch of sailing groups and message boards and the vast consensus is that All Is Lost is a comedy.

Have a large hole in your boat? Better shave!

Sailing far off shore? Long range communication gear is overrated!

Boat slowly sinking? Better tie your life raft to it and take a nap!

For around $400 bucks he could have bought an EPIRB (emergency position indicating radio beacon) and the movie would have been over quickly.

[Colibri]

@Jophiel

Neat, thanks. I thought maybe a raft was more stable, though I was mentally comparing it to a traditional little wooden boat.

It will depend on the characteristics of the boat. An inflatable raft might resist sinking or overturning better than some boats (and maybe be easier to right if they do). But if you have a good boat, it would probably be better than a raft in most conditions.

[DrDeth]

@Megas_P

In theory, any vessel commercial or not spotting MOB (Man Over Board), life boat or life raft will assist always depending on the weather conditions.
If there are 8 meter waves or a gale, there is no point in trying to rescue anybody as it is most likely to endanger the lives of the people in the rescue craft.

As for the second part of the question, if a vessel can salvage in MOB situations the answer is emphatically YES!

During rescue in a MOB situation vessels will deploy not their liferafts of lifeboats (as was suggested earlier), but their Rescue Boat.

Rescue boats are small, easy to maneuver boats that are specially designed for these purpose. Granted, in certain vessels which are not designed to carry Rescue boats, the Stbd side Life boat takes the role of the Rescue boat.

During Rescue, the vessel needs not to come at a complete stop, due to the type of release mechanisms Rescue boats should use, namely On-Load release.

The procedure is as follows:

1. Once a crew member spots a MOB, notifies the bridge and the bridge signals MOB using the whistle.
2. Bridge notifies E/R for dead slow and/or stop.
3. Rescue Boat crew (usually three people namely, Helmsman, one to release the painter and one to release the Hook) gear up and embark on the rescue boat.
4. Depending on the condition of the sea and on the type of release mechanism a rescue boat has, a painter line may be used
5. Rescue Boat is then swing outward (While the vessel is still moving) and lowered just before entering the water.
6. Engine of the Rescue boat is started.
7. In the case of On load release (the most appropriate mechanism for a rescue boat) the safety is removed and the hook disengaged resulting in the Rescue boat entering the water and heading towards the MOB, whereas the vessel continues its way to perform a Williamson maneuver and return to collect the rescue boat.
   Of course things are complicated if the Rescue boat is using an Off – load release mechanism or an Automatic Release mechanism, but I do not want to hijack this thread while explaining the merits of the On-load release system and why certain classification societies (and Flag states) have lost their marbles in trying to replace it.

Great post, thanks!

[Mighty_Girl]

@Princhester

Whaaat? A container ship with a pool? Do you mean cruise vessel?

Things are different nowadays. My husband’s container ship has a pool, gym, game room, and a book/video game library. He has a 3-room apparment with private office and video console.

You should see how they eat. Puts the SS Martha to shame.

[Mighty_Girl]

BTW, most of his rescues consist of giving the rescuees water, fuel and food to get back home at their own request. Many times fishermen run out of fuel in the middle of nowhere.

[Amateur_Barbarian]

@watchwolf49

That’s such a sad thought … imagine some bloke floating somewhere in the vastness of the Pacific Ocean and the first cargo ship that comes along runs him over.

There are stories of ships coming into port with sails and rigging tangled in their bow gear or anchor chains… and no one on board has any idea when or where it happened.

[Melbourne]

@Princhester

Whaaat? A container ship with a pool? Do you mean cruise vessel?

In this case, the “pool” was actually hanging over the side of the ship, which is why “jumping over the wrong side” landed him in the ocean. And no, it was container ship, not a cruise ship. (It was an old ship even then, and that was 20 years ago)

[Schnitte]

@Chickenwrangler

I understand that some of these ships take more than a mile to come to a stop

I’d like to point out that the statement “more than a mile” here is an understatement. The International Maritime Organisation, which is the international regulatory body for shipping, requires (PDF file) ships to be able to come to a halt in 15 ship lengths, in exceptional cases 20. For a modern 400 metre container vessel, that would be between 6 kilometres (3.7 land miles, 3.2 nautical miles) and 8 kilometres (5 land miles, 4.3 nautical miles). But that’s for an extreme emergency stop where engines are set on full astern, something that is very rarely done because it wastes fuel and damages the hull.

[Megas_P]

@Schnitte

I’d like to point out that the statement “more than a mile” here is an understatement. The International Maritime Organisation, which is the international regulatory body for shipping, requires (PDF file) ships to be able to come to a halt in 15 ship lengths, in exceptional cases 20. For a modern 400 metre container vessel, that would be between 6 kilometres (3.7 land miles, 3.2 nautical miles) and 8 kilometres (5 land miles, 4.3 nautical miles). But that’s for an extreme emergency stop where engines are set on full astern, something that is very rarely done because it wastes fuel and damages the hull.

True, but a vessel does not and should not need to stop to perform MOB operation

[Princhester]

@Schnitte

I’d like to point out that the statement “more than a mile” here is an understatement. The International Maritime Organisation, which is the international regulatory body for shipping, requires (PDF file) ships to be able to come to a halt in 15 ship lengths, in exceptional cases 20. For a modern 400 metre container vessel, that would be between 6 kilometres (3.7 land miles, 3.2 nautical miles) and 8 kilometres (5 land miles, 4.3 nautical miles). But that’s for an extreme emergency stop where engines are set on full astern, something that is very rarely done because it wastes fuel and damages the hull.

It doesn’t have to stop, it can turn.

Also, “damages the hull”? In what way?

[Colibri]

@Tired_and_Cranky

I am also left wondering whether Princess Cruises highlighted only the images and video that best supported their version of events while completely ignoring other images.

What other images?

[Snnipe_70E]

@Melbourne

I knew a container ship that lost a man overboard (he’d been dringking, and jumped out of the wrong side of the pool). They stoped as soon as they could, and still didn’t find him.

Incredebly, another ship going past a few hours later found this guy drifting in the ocean…

Wrong side of the pool? WTH. On a container ship? I doubt things have changed that much.

[Snnipe_70E]

@Mighty_Girl

Things are different nowadays. My husband’s container ship has a pool, gym, game room, and a book/video game library. He has a 3-room apparment with private office and video console.

You should see how they eat. Puts the SS Martha to shame.

I guess I quit going to sea too soon. When I was sailing on the chief and captain had more than one room. And they only had two.

[Princhester]

@Snnipe_70E

Wrong side of the pool? WTH. On a container ship? I doubt things have changed that much.

Yeah, I’m struggling. A container vessel with a pool well yeah OK some of the major container lines look after their crews reasonably well. But then a pool where you can jump out of the wrong side and go o/b? So we are talking about a container line that really looks after their people… but has no clue whatsoever about even the most basic principles of safety at sea. Can’t think of too many container lines with that degree of internal cognitive dissonance.

And then the pool was “hanging over the side”? Uh, what? Was the naval architect Frank Lloyd Wright or…

[Mighty_Girl]

@Snnipe_70E

I guess I quit going to sea too soon. When I was sailing on the chief and captain had more than one room. And they only had two.

Well, he actually works for the world’s largest shipping company. Mileage does indeed vary depending on how companies treat their crews.

They also pay all my expenses if I want to travel with him occasionally. Which I did before we had a kid to complicate things.

[Melbourne]

@Princhester

Yeah, I’m struggling. A container vessel with a pool well yeah OK some of the major container lines look after their crews reasonably well. But then a pool where you can jump out of the wrong side and go o/b? So we are talking about a container line that really looks after their people… but has no clue whatsoever about even the most basic principles of safety at sea. Can’t think of too many container lines with that degree of internal cognitive dissonance.

And then the pool was “hanging over the side”? Uh, what? Was the naval architect Frank Lloyd Wright or…

It was “hanging over the side” because the ship was so old that it was built without a crew pool. So they jury-rigged one.

[Mighty_Girl]

@Melbourne

It was “hanging over the side” because the ship was so old that it was built without a crew pool. So they jury-rigged one.

And now we see how stupid that was.

[Balthisar]

@Princhester

The lookout’s job is, uh, to look out. So he should be scanning the horizon. But we all know how the world works of course.

I’m not sure how this scales to the job of the lookout, but in manufacturing the only thing worse than human inspection is no inspection. Yeah, sure, we constantly implement human inspection as a stopgap when something has gone wrong, but that assuages management more than it actually accomplishes anything.

I have to imagine that being watch on a ship is pretty much the same, unless you’re in a war or something.

[bump]

@Machine_Elf

I’m struggling to envision circumstances where this would be an issue. Maybe if the rescuing vessel is being pursued by pirates?

Foul weather and a lee shore might do it, even for a modern-day powered vessel.