Emergency training must be thorough, taken seriously and rehearsed regularly.
Under the STCW Code and SOLAS, there are defined requirements for drills that must be conducted, as well as the frequency of those drills. These are important requirements to be aware of as port state inspections will typically want to see them in the log record, and your flag state and classification society certainly will. But what about drills that are not included in the regulatory requirements? And what are the drills really supposed to achieve? The typical monthly regulatory emergency training drills include man overboard, fire, muster and abandoning ship.
When was the last time you conducted an emergency steering drill or damage control/dewatering drill? How about your medical or confined space entry skills? Did you learn them in class and then put the book on the shelf, or are you engaged in routine drills to maintain those skills and readiness? How soon after a major crew rotation does your vessel conduct emergency drills? Are your drills ever audited by a third party or an assessor from a training provider? These questions need to be asked.
Drills are vital to keeping the crew’s skills fresh and maintaining a high level of familiarity with procedures on board their vessel. Skills are learned and developed over time; we would not expect a new hire deckhand to have the same response to an emergency as a seasoned captain or senior crew member. Their experiences, knowledge and training have all changed their response to an almost instinctive reaction response to an emergency.
Those that have children know how it feels the first time your infant is crying and you don’t know what to do. By the time your child is a few years old or you’ve had a second child, your reaction is different. You know what to do; you know how to deal with it. I can recall my first child, the first night I sat up with him crying I had no idea what I was doing. My wife was in bed exhausted, and I was doing what a good dad does, trying to figure out how to take care of our newborn. Having a mom and two older sisters with kids of their own, I sought their guidance and help. Fast forward a few months and I could just about change a diaper or prep a bottle in my sleep. My response to the crying changed as my experience changed. However, it’s been a while since I’ve had to change a diaper or prep a bottle; I do not doubt that my response would be different and that my skills that had become nearly a reflex have faded due to lack of use. Drills are the same thing — if the skills you learned and mastered aren’t reviewed and practiced, they diminish to the point that competence is lost.
Drills are usually viewed as an inconvenience to the day’s routine. I disagree with that feeling. Conducting regular drills and working with the crew is a vital part of their day. Practicing the skills, rehearsing the response and planning for events allows for a much faster and much more effective response. Captains and management need to work together to get the crew to “buy in” to the value of drills. After all, it’s for their lives and the lives they may save some day.