← Making Synapses
Making Synapses · Bringing Knowledge to Mankind

NavalKeeping the person in the water in sight

A crewmember has gone over the side of a commercial fishing vessel and the ring life buoy is already in the water. You are posted as the lookout: you keep the person in the water in sight while the rescue boat goes to pick them up and, if they are not found right away, while the Coast Guard is notified and the search goes on. It is the second step of the federal man overboard procedure, and recovering a person from the water is one of the contingencies every crew drills each month.

Free to start

Scenarios

  • The monthly drill, run on board as if it were a real emergency.
  • The rescue boat picks the person up.
  • The person is not located right away: the Coast Guard and nearby vessels are notified.

The steps

  1. Take the lookout post once the ring life buoy has been thrown as close to the person as possible.
  2. Keep the person in the water in sight.
  3. Keep them in sight while the rescue boat is launched and maneuvered to pick them up.
  4. Keep them in sight while a crewmember in a lifejacket or immersion suit, on a safety line, stands by to jump in and help if needed.
  5. If the person is not located right away, keep watching while the Coast Guard and the other vessels nearby are notified.
  6. Stay on the search until the Coast Guard releases the vessel.

To pass

  • A lookout posted right after the ring life buoy, keeping the person in the water in sight.
  • The man overboard procedure is posted where the crew can see it, or kept readily available.
  • Every person on board drilled and instructed on recovering someone from the water at least once a month, as if it were real, with everyone taking part.

Official source

U.S. Coast Guard · 46 CFR 28.265 and 28.270

46 CFR Part 28: Requirements for Commercial Fishing Industry Vessels (28.265 Emergency instructions, 28.270 Instruction, drills, and safety orientation)

The eCFR publishes 46 CFR Part 28 free: the emergency instructions every commercial fishing vessel posts, its lifesaving equipment and the monthly drills.

Making Synapses is not affiliated with, sponsored by or endorsed by the U.S. Coast Guard or any maritime authority. Regulations are named only to describe the content.