United States Navy Increases Deck Safety

The U. S. Navy reports that in light of the dangerous nature of living on board a ship, it has instituted a series of precautions to protect the sailors and officers on board.

One aspect of this policy is creating a safe deck environment.

We have all seen images of the Titanic, whether in the movie, or in magazines, and the difficulty that the crew had because there were not enough life boats. The Navy's checklist is an effort to avoid such tragedies at sea.

It consists of items like the following. Are methods of releasing life boats posted? Are locations of life boats well-known? Are abandon ship stations listed? Are the wire ropes used to lower the boats properly spooled? In port, are civilian ferries and water taxis sea worthy?

But deck safety involves more than preparing to abandon ship.

When personnel work over the side of the ship, is the rigging safe? Is there fall protection equipment and is it properly installed? Are all harnesses and safety lanyards working?

What if somebody falls overboard? Does the ship have more than one qualified rescue swimmer? Have they graduated from the surface rescue swimmer school? Are they qualified in writing? Is the deck officer properly trained?

Are life preservers properly stowed in their lockers? Are those lockers properly labeled with the quantity of preservers inside and the different types inside? Are those lockers randomly checked? Are safety harnesses available? Are sailors who are working aloft properly equipped? Are distress marker lights available?

Abandon ship instructions should be clearly posted. Safety precaution placards and muster lists must be posted at each station. Cargo and safety hatch instructions must be clearly posted. There are a number of placards that must be posted, for example, to warn of men working on the side of the ship, men working aloft, towing in progress, and capstan operations.

All personnel who are required to operate major heavy equipment must be qualified and certified. Each piece of heavy equipment must be tested for safety. Special equipment used for handling explosive ordinance must be properly labeled. For example, winches must be secured properly and labeled.

Often, when at sea, ships must resupply. This involves running lines from one ship to the other. If the ships pull apart the lines will snap and this creates a danger of injury for personnel working on the deck who might be hit by the snapping line. A number of safety issues involve ropes. How old is the rope being used? Manila line five years or older is not suitable for use involving personnel, as it weakens with time.

These safety policies have recently been updated and will continue to be updated to keep the sailors and officers in our fleet uninjured.

Deck Safety, USN