423
1 INTRODUCTION
TherecenttragicaccidentoftheSewolFerryinSouth
Koreahasfocusedthewholeworldʹsattentiononthe
reasonableallocationandcorrectoperationofmarine
life‐saving equipments and the survival and
lifesaving ability of crews. Meanwhile, the recent
lifeboattrainingaccidentofamaritimeschoolinour
countryobligedthewholeindust
rytopayattentionto
the safety of crews’ survival and lifesaving ability
training.Itisthebasicrequirementofmaritimesafety
education to guarantee the safety of teaching
operationwhiletrainingthecrewʹsoccupationsafety
capability. Marine Training Center of Shanghai
Maritime University has undertaken the pra
ctical
teaching ofʺmarine survivalʺ for many years and
comeupwiththewholesafetyproceduresoftraining.
2 GROUNDSOFMARINESURVIVALTRAINING
Accordingtotherequirements oftableA‐VI/1‐1inthe
Manila Amendments to the STCW Convention
(InternationalMaritimeOrganization2010),Seafarers
employedorengagedinanycapacity onboa
rdship
on the business of the ship as part of the ship’s
complement with designated safety or pollution‐
prevention duties in the operation of the ship shall
receive appropria te approved basic training or
instruction in personal survival techniques before
being assigned to any shipboard duties. The
STC
W/2010 amendment requires crews to provide
evidencedemonstratingthatmaintainedprofessional
competenceintrainingcannotbeconductedonboard.
Methodsformaintainingprofessionalcompetencein
these items are presented in the STCW78/10
amendment chapter VI. These items of training that
Training safel
y
, Training safety
J
.Wu,M.An,Y.Jin&H.Geng
ShanghaiMaritimeUniversity,Shanghai,China
ABSTRACT: It is the basic requirement of maritime safety education to guarantee the safety of teaching
operationwhiletrainingthecrewʹsoccupationsafetycapability.MarineTrainingCenterofShanghaiMaritime
Universityhasundertakenthepracticalteachingofʺmarinesurvivalʺformanyyearsandcomeupwiththe
wholesafetyproceduresoftraining. BasedontherequirementsofSOLASconventionandregulationsofSTCW
over crew training, thi
s paper introduces the safety allocation, utilization and maintenance of teaching
equipments. Through the investigation of the safety situation of studentsʹ practical operation, the safety
teachingmethodnamedʺfourinoneʺhasbeenputforward,whichincludesthepre‐teachingsafetyprecaution,
the whole monitor during the teaching process, the post‐teaching summa
ry evaluation, and the reset and
standbyofteachingfacilities.Finally,duringthelearningandtrainingofʺmarinesurvivalʺ,crewsandstudents
arecalledontoplacepriorityonpersona
lsafetyratherthanacquisitionofknowledgeandskills.Onlyinthis
waycantheybecapableofself‐protectionandprotectionofothersinthecareerofseafaring.
http://www.transnav.eu
the International Journal
on Marine Navigation
and Safety of Sea Transportation
Volume 8
Number 3
September 2014
DOI:10.12716/1001.08.03.14
424
cannotbeconductedonboardarerelatedtocapacity
ofmarinesurvival.
EuropeanMaritimeSafetyAgency(EMSA)carried
out a comprehensive evaluation on education,
training,examinationandcertificationforseafarersin
China from October 15
th
to 24
th
, 2012. Maritime
education and management in our country received
high evaluation from the assessment experts of
EMSA, which has verified comprehensiveness and
effectiveness of performance of the 1978 STCW
convention and amendment. Shanghai Maritime
University experienced on‐site inspection, and as an
important maritime education department, Marine
Training Centre revealed that navigational skills
education and training can completely meet EU
requirementsforhigh‐levelmaritimeeducationinthe
aspects of education facilities, management system,
teachingperformanceandotheraspects.
BasedonrequirementsofregulationIII/17‐1inthe
SOLAS amendment (International Maritime
Organization2014),shipshalldevelopʺspecificplans
and procedures for recovery of persons from the
waterʺ, which came into force on July 1
st
, 2014. The
newrulesare designed to provide master andother
crewmembersguidanceinrecoveryofpersonsfrom
the water, minimize the risk to crewmembers on
board and the persons who fell into water, and
enhance safety at sea. In addition to Circular
MSC/Circ.1412 approved by International Maritime
Organization(2004), Maritime Safety Committee has
provided guidelines for the amendment as
ʺGuidelinesforPreparation of Plans and Procedures
for Recovery of Persons from the Waterʺ (China
Classification Society 2014), which provides that all
existingtraditionalormodernlife‐savingequipments
andotherdevicescanbeusedtorescuepersonnelon
board and lists all items of consideration for
development of plans and procedures, such as risk
assessment, specific criteria for recovery of persons
fromthewaterandcrewʹsabilityandskills.
As a state‐certified maritime education and
trainingdepartmentinbasicsafetycertificatetraining
for seafarers, Shanghai Maritime University Marine
TrainingCenterimplementstheConventionactively,
adjusts teaching plans, improves teaching content,
and strengthens crew’s marine survival ability.
During the process of
maritime education and
traininginʺbasicsafetyʺ, theawareness ofʺsafetyin
training, training for safetyʺ has been built for
studentstoreceiveskillsofsafetytrainingandmarine
survival.
3 TEACHINGFACILITIES
Shanghai Maritime University has run Quality
ManagementSystemfor17years,whichhasreceived
andpassed
DetNorskeVeritas(DNV)externalaudit
many times. After the new Marine Training Center
came into service, it passed DNV external audit the
first time. Marine Training Center has been visited,
inspected, and highly praised by many visiting
delegations of foreign maritime universities and
related leaders from domestic government agencies
and
institutions. Those honored guests were deeply
impressed by wave produce equipment, which
createsarealisticoceanwaveenvironment.According
toʺThePeopleʹsRepublicofChinaCodeonSeafarerʹs
TrainingManagementʺ (MinistryofTransportof the
Peopleʹs Republic of China 2009) implemented on
October1st,2009,Shanghai
MaritimeUniversityhas
developedMarineTrainingCenterinaccordancewith
ʺthe standards of venues, facilities, equipments and
requirements of teaching faculty for seamen basic
safetytrainingʺ,withtrainingvenuesimproved,more
relevant marine survival safety equipments
purchased, relevant signs, marks and panels
arranged,andsafetymanagementsystemofteaching
and practical operation optimized. Through careful
comparison withʺguide for verification of seafarer
traininginstitutionsʺ(MaritimeSafetyAdministration
of the Peopleʹs Republic of China 2010), the Center
hasmadeupforitsdisadvantages.Ithasbeenhighly
praisedbyacceptanceexpertsandpassedacceptance
inspection of teaching facilities organized by
Shanghai Maritime Safety Administration in June
2014.
3.1 Safetyallocations
The largest facility located in the training center is
wave‐makingpool,whichisalsothemostimportant
equipment.Besidesthepool,survivallaboratoryand
dressing room are the supporting facilities. The
trainingcenterhasalifeboatandseverallife
raftson
5m platform. Our students will receive training in
launchinglifeboatandrecoveringit.Afterputtingon
lifejacket or immersion suit correctly, students jump
intothewave‐waterfrom5mplatform.
Surroundingthepool,functional zone and safety
markareestablished.Thedivingterminalofthepool
is5metersdeepwater. Abovethewater,5mplatform
isequippedwithsafetymarkʺBewareofFallingʺ,and
aspecialnon‐slipmatisinstalledonthedivingboard
topreventhurtfromslippingandcolliding.Relative
tothedeepwateris2metersshallowwater.Toavoid
any accident from jumping into shallow water
without lifejacket, prohibitory sign is expressed as
“ShallowWater,NoDiving!”Ontherightsideofthe
diving terminal is lifeboat operating zone, which is
markedbyyellow‐blackwarningline.Theotherside
isbriefingcornerundercoverofawning.
Manysafetyallocationsarepresentedeverywhere
all over the center, including prohibitory sign and
warningmark.Youreyeswillfirstfocusonastriking
prohibitory signʺRestricted Areas: without
permission, no admittance!ʺ against red background
attheentrance.Anotherprohibitorysignisinstalled
attheentranceofwave‐makerroomwithmanyhigh‐
voltage machines, avoiding any irrelevant personnel
accesstothearea.
Itisdangeroustoswimnearthebuffermeshinthe
pool,especiallywhenthewave‐makerisrunning. As
aresult,themarkʺNoSwimmingʺispresentedhere.
Ononesideofthepool,thelifeboatanditslaunching
facilities are dangerous source to students, so the
markʺNo Climbingʺ andʺBeware of Machinery
Injuriesʺ are here to give safe signals to students,
nobody is allowed to be exposed to this area
especially climb the lifeboat. No playing games is
allowed surrounding the ground and all over the
water,abig markernamed“DoNotHorseAround!”
425
is hanging in an eye‐catching position. Some other
warningmarksarealsofoundaroundthepool,such
asʺBeware of Falling into the Waterʺ, Beware of
Slippingʺ,andʺCaution!ʺ.
3.2 Utilizationofteachingequipments
Producingwave:Thepooliscontrolledbytheasetof
wave‐producers,sixair‐blowers produceairflowing
inthecyclicpipeline,thewaterinthepoolrisesand
falls accordingly, as a result, the wave is produced.
Withthe
changingofworkingmodel,sixstylewaves
can be selected, and they are convex wave, cross
wave,left‐turnwave,surfwave,diamondwaveand
random wave. The program of performance is as
follows:first,startthemachineinthemachinespace
belowthepool,andthen,twotimesof
warningsignal
will be given out to draw people’s attention. When
thesecondwarningsignalisover,thewavewillcome
soon.Therearemanyoptionsfromsixwavestyles.If
anyemergencyhappened,emergencystopbuttoncan
beusedtocutoffthesemachines.
Launchingliferaft:liferaftoperatingareaisseton
5mplatformwithwarningmarkontheground.The
operationoflaunchingliferaftiscarriedouthere.The
first step is to check whether the life raft and its
accessory equipments are in good condition.
Instructorwillconfirmthatpainteristiedsomewhere
securely and no obstruction is in the water. Safety
fenceopened,hydrostaticreleaseunitstarted or raft
houseslipreleased,lifeboatwillfallintothewaterby
gravity. Inflated cylinders start meanwhile and life
raft shell opens. Some capable students should be
assignedtogetintowater andtransfertheshelland
fittingstoshoretoavoidhurtingstudents.
Righting an inverted life raft: the righter in a
lifejacket should jump into the water and pull the
CO2 cylinder side to leeward. He climbs up the
bottom of the life raft from the CO2 cylinder side,
stands on the bottom side of the
chamber near the
CO2 cylinders, and then pulls the righting strap
steadily while leaning as backwards as possible. At
thattimetheraftrightagainunderthejointeffectof
humanbodygravity, tensionandwind.Asteadypull
isbetterthan a jerk, and it is easier to right
the raft
withthehelpofwind.Afterrightingraft,therighter
should swim immediately away from underside of
theraftsidewithoutrope‐ladder,andbewareofbeing
entangledinthe ladder or hit by the cylinder at the
sametime.
Embarking and disembarking: beneath the
entrance of inflatable life
raft is a rope ladder for
embarking. When boarding the life raft, one hand
grasps the rope ladder, the other hand grasps the
cable on the floating tire, with arms bent and legs
curved backward to climb the ladder. When upper
bodycrosses the floatingtire, headleansforward to
throwupperbodyintotheraft(forwardroll).When
leavingtheraft,studentshouldfacetheraft,sitonthe
floating tire, keep away from embarkation ladder,
pinchnose andmouthand use backward roll to get
intowater.
3.3 Maintenanceofteachingequipments
Instructors should complete the preparation of
related facilities and equipments in accordance with
“Shanghai Maritime University Experimental
Instructor Code”, and check out the reliability of
relatedequipments.Instructorsshouldarriveatwater
trainingcenter20minutesearlier,checkoutthestate
ofequipments,startupcircuit,andinflatetheliferaft.
Regular examination and maintenance of survival
equipmentsarenecessary.Liferaftneedstobetimely
transferredtoshoreafterusing,havingwaterdrained
fromvalveandbeingdriedundertheawing.Timely
inflation and deflation are also important in case
valvemayexpandunderhightemperature,resulting
in damage of weak parts and training accident. Life
jackets need regular examination as well, including
timelyrepairandreplacementofbrokenlifejackets.
4 ʺFOURINONEʺSAFETYTEACHINGMETHOD
4.1 Thesafetysituationofstudentsʹpracticaloperation
Based on continuous teaching and tracking marine
survival course, students’ classroom and on‐site
performance are basically satisfactory. Advanced
waveproducesystemandclearwatergreatlycheered
students when they first entered Marine Training
Center. Thanks to the paramilitary management
studentshavereceived,basic teachingorderhasbeen
fine.Usuallythe“marinesurvivalcourse”isopened
in the first year, when students’ sense of obedience
has not yet seriously degraded. And practical
operationcoursewillnotstartuntil
theoreticalcourse
has been conducted for some time. In theoretical
course, instructors put forward relevant safety
requirements and students have to abide by them.
Student leaders have to bring their ability into full
play in maintaining practical operation course. No
personal safety accident has ever happened since
Marine Training Center
is under operation. Awning
has been installed for students to cool themselves
during training in hot summer, with the purpose of
heatstroke prevention. First aid kits, stretchers and
othermedicalequipmentshavealsobeenequippedto
dealwithemergenciesofstudents.
4.2 Thepre‐teachingsafetyprecaution
After students enter the
teaching area of practical
operation, instructors explain safety precautions to
themforatleasthalfanhour.Emphasishasbeenlaid
on strict obedience of the regulations of “Shanghai
Maritime University Laboratory Safety and Health
Rules”,andsafetyrequirementsand announcements
ofmarinesurvivalcoursehavebeentold.
Studentsare
arrangedtocheckoutthegroundof
assigned route of training program in Marine
Training Center so as to eliminate rubble, glass and
thelike.Beforethetrainingcourse,studentsareasked
toputontrainingsuitandclothing,suchasbathing
suit or swimming trunks, in designated dressing
room, no
swimming goggles are allowed. Students
arenotallowedto putonunderwear, watch,orany
other ornaments when they are receiving diving
training.Theyhavetostaycleanbeforetheyenterthe
426
pool,andtheyarenotallowedtolitterorspitinthe
pool.Swimming,divingunderwater andplaying in
waterareallforbiddeninthepool.Intrainingvenues,
norunningorfightingisallowed,andasforstudents
whotakepartintraining,theyarenotallowedto
do
anythingthatisnotrelatedtotraining.Nostudentis
allowed to dive in non‐designated diving area or
reach area outside training venues. With the
exception of support group and rescue team who
offerassistancenearthepool,nostudentisallowedto
comewithinhalfameter
ofthepool’sbounda ryline.
Wave production should be arranged at the last
group of training task if necessary, and students
should be notified about the time, procedure and
safety precautions of wave production. Before wave
producesystemisstartedup,acarefulexaminationis
necessary to see if there is
any obstacle or anyone
swimminginthepool.
Studentsshouldlistentorelatedmatterscarefully,
andiftheyhaveanyquestion,theyshouldaskabout
it immediately and have the problem solved before
they start training. During the training, students
subordinate themselves to management, learn
modestly, and finish training programs
one by one
accordingtotherequirement of instructors. Without
permission, they cannot perform other training
programs or touch the equipments or goods at
training place. During the process of training, they
cannotleavetrainingplacewithoutnotice;inthecase
of special circumstances, they have to ask the
instructor for
a leave of absence before they can go.
Finally,unrelated personcannotenter training place
duringtraining.
Students should be put into different teams;
trainingprocedures,trainingprogramsandtechnical
essentialshavetobeexplainedtothem.Studentshave
to change clothes and get lifejacket under
arrangement, and they also
have to be taught the
correct way of putting on lifejacket, technical
essentials and safety details of other training
programs.
4.3 Thesafetycontrolduringtheteachingprocess
Instructors stand at the rear position of the diver to
instruct the students. When one team of students
arrive at diving platform and
line up in sequence,
diving procedures and matters needing attention
shouldbeemphasizedagain. Beforediving,students
shouldwearlifejacketproperly,anddivingwithout
life jacket is strictly prohibited. Instructors should
checkoutwhetherstudentswearlifejacketproperly
according to requirements. When they are diving,
theirdiving posture
shouldbe strictly inaccordance
withtheguide.Thatistheyjumpintothewaterwith
their feet down and head on, two legs straight and
clamped, two eyes looking at the front horizontally,
innerhandcoveringmouthandnose,andouterhand
claspingthelifejacketofupperarm.They
jumpinto
the water in this posture vertically, with deep‐
breathing and eliminationof distractions. Any other
postureisstrictlyprohibited.
Two whistles are used to call students’ attention.
Atthefirstwhistle,studentsshouldtaketheirplace,
confirm their life jacket are fastened, secure rope
ends,whistleandlife
jacketlight,andmakesuretheir
postureiscorrect.Thesecondwhistleisthesignalto
jump. Students conduct diving practical operation
accordingtothiswhistle.Aftertheyfallintothewater
theyshouldswimawayassoonaspossible.Thenext
studentshouldbedirectedtodiving placetostandby.
Thedivinginterval should be strictlycontrolled;the
diving whistle shall be sent out only after the
previousstudentis5metersawayfromwherehefell.
Forstudentswithafearofheights,heartdiseaseand
otherspecialillness,psychologicalcounselingshallbe
introduced to encourage them, no style
of outside
forces are allowed to push or strike them to dive in
order to avoid accidents. If anyone goes against the
above‐mentioned rules, then instructors are
authorizedtobringtheirtrainingtoahalt.
Make certain that the first diver selected is
powerful, agile and good at swimming, who
can
swimtotheliferaftswiftlyandrightitsafely.Remind
them of safety action of somersault embarking and
backward somersault disembarking. The assigned
support team should keep the life raft at a safe
positionallthetimeincaseofcollisionwiththewall
ofthepoolto
preventinjurywhentheygetoutofthe
liferaft;andstudents havetobe supervisedtokeep
theHELPpostureinthewholeprocess.Rescueteam
should be organized, with six students in one team,
and all of them should be good at swimming. They
arescatteredoverthreesides
ofthepooltodealwith
the emergencies of cramp and drowning that can
occur atanytime. The next team shall not move on
with training until the first team (6 to 10 people)
finished, thus they can take advantage of high
attitude to have a full view of
all the operational
programs,procedures,technicalessentialsandsafety
precautionsinthewater.
Whenitistheturnoflastgroup,whistleisusedto
haveallstudents’attentiontostartupwaveproduce
system.Aftertwoalarmingbells,wavesarecreatedin
thepool.Thelastgroupofstudentsconducts
diving
training according to the whistle. What deserves
specialattentionisthatinawavedenvironment,there
ismoreresistance, which is more energy‐consuming
anddifficulttoswimaway.Therefore,divinginterval
should be prolonged; the signal for next student to
dive should not be given out until it
is completely
certain that there is no danger of collision. Support
team should employ their techniques and skills to
make the floating life raft upside down. Apart from
that, they have to prevent the impact of wave from
righting the life raft and pay attention to personal
safetyateveryminute
incaseofdrowningorinjury.
Instructors instruct students in techniques of
rightingliferaftinwavesandindicatethecorrectand
safe means of boarding life raft. They constantly
remindthestudentsofthedangerofgettingtheirfeet
tangledinropehandrailsorropeladder,whichwill
result
in injury. After all the students have boarded
the life raft and finished the assigned program
successfully,theyshouldgetoutoftheliferaftsafely
and swim to the designated waters to perform the
HELP posture. Instructors should always pay
attention to the students in case they are washed
away
bywavesorcollidedagainstbuffernetworkor
fenceandgetinjured.AfterstudentsfinishtheHELP
posture, they should go ashore immediately and be
mindful of the slippery floor. They have to go to
427
dressingroomatoncetochangetheirclothesincase
theymightcatchabadcold.
4.4 Thepost‐teachingsummary evaluation
After the training, students should assemble and be
counted in case individual students might be
neglected in the bottom of the pool (Such incident
happenedinonemaritime
school).Instructorsshould
summarize and evaluate the training courses. They
should not only evaluate and lay emphasis on
students’ technical performance, but also investigate
incident and near miss during the whole training
process and criticize individual students who act
againstdisciplines. Eachteamisrequiredtodosome
self‐evaluation
on safety, especially a detailed
retrospectofoversightornearmissduringthewhole
process, which include not only deficiencies of
individual training program, but also inadequacy of
logistics safeguard, safety awareness and safety
actions of the students. The performance of the first
member of each team should be evaluated, with
meritsdevelopedanddemeritspointedout.Ifthereis
any obvious mistake, then the sequence of students
diving should be adjusted accordingly. The
performance of students with acrophobia shall be
assessed, and psychological counseling is needed to
encourage such students to standardize technical
essentialsandfinishallthetrainingprograms.
Based
on multi‐directional observation and students’ self‐
evaluation,instructorsshouldgiveasummaryofthe
whole situation of training, emphasizing safety
problems and proposing measures to correct. As for
some individual students who boo and hoot, they
shouldreceiveseriouscriticismandeducation.
Theresetandstandbyofteachingfacilities
.
Aftercompletionofsummaryevaluation,equipments
and facilities have to be checked out. The hardware
malfunctionfound in this practical operation should
berepairedorreset.Lifejacketsandliferaftsneedto
be neatened and placed at designated place to dry.
Timelysalvageisneededifanyofthe
accessoriesof
lifejackets or life raftshavebeenleft in the pool,in
casetheymaycausetroubletowaveproducingnext
time. Power supply unit of wave produce system,
doors and windows need to be shut off in time.
Compressedairpumpandtoolboxshouldbe taken
back to storehouse. In a word, the Instructors must
confirm that all teaching facilities are standby after
class. After all the work of reset and standby, the
security manager of training center need to be
notified and lock the training place to prevent
irrelevant personnel from coming in during
extracurriculartime
5 CONCLUSIONANDSUGGESTION
With the guide and requirement of relevant
conventions and codes for maritime education and
training, Marine Training Center carries out basic
safety certificate training for maritime students, not
onlyteachingstudentswatersurvivalskills,butalso
providingsafetyassurance.Startingfromallocationof
teaching facilities, our
university takes into account
two aspects, one is necessary teaching facilities, the
other is additional safety configurations, such as
various training zone warning labels, all kinds of
prohibitorysignsandwarningmarks;utilizationand
maintenance of teaching facilities also follow the
principlesofsafetyandreliability.
ʺFourinoneʺhas
beenputforwardinteachingfor
many years in the marine survival course, which
includesthepre‐teachingsafetyprecaution,thewhole
monitor during the teaching process, the post‐
teaching summary evaluation, and the reset and
standby of teaching facilities. Every step ofʺfour in
oneʺ safety teaching mode always ensures
the
principle ofʺsafety firstʺ. The success of safety
practiceteachingisinsepa rablefromthesupportfrom
university level, the instructorʹs practice, logistical
safeguard, and most importantly, obedience and
cooperation of all trainees. Finally, during the
learningandtrainingofʺmarinesurvivalʺ,alltrainees
are called on
to place priority on personal safety
insteadof acquisitionofknowledge and skills. Only
inthiswaycantheybecapableofself‐protectionand
protectionofothersinthecareerofseafaring.
REFERENCES
[1]China Classification Society. (2014). Guidelines for
Preparation of Plans and Procedures for Recovery of
PersonsfromtheWater.
[2]International Maritime Organization. (2004).
InternationalConventionforTheSafetyofLifeatSea.
[3]InternationalMaritimeOrganization.(2010).TheManila
Amendments to the Seafarers’ Training, Certification
andWatchkeeping(STCW)Code.
[4]
International Maritime Organization. (2014). Resolution
MSC.368(93)‐Amendments to the International Life‐
SavingAppliance(LSA)Code.
[5]MinistryoftransportofthePeopleʹsRepublicofChina.
(2009). The Peopleʹs Republic of China Code on
SeafarerʹsTrainingManagement.
[6]MaritimeSafetyAdministrationofthePeopleʹsRepublic
of China.
(2010).The notification on affairs related to
implementation ofʺThe Peopleʹs Republic of China
CodeonSeafarerʹsTrainingManagementʺ.
