english 2 курс материалы в помощь / Survival craft

Survival craft

All standard life-saving equipment on board any vessel can be divided into two main groups: personal life-saving appliances and survival craft. Many vessels also carry rescue boats but the latter have limited purposes and therefore can be considered as a separate group.

Survival craft include different types of life-boats and life-rafts.

Life-boat. Life-boats are intended for saving the life of crew members of ships in distress when it becomes necessary to abandon such ships. In those cases when ships do not carry rescue boats life-boats can be used to fulfil their functions.

There are three basic types of life-boats: open, partially enclosed and totally enclosed. Open life-boats belong to a traditional type of survival craft and are still widely used at sea. They are usually made of wood or glass-fibre reinforced plastic (GRP) and lowered from davits. The procedure of their lowering is briefly described below.

• The coxswain (командир шлюпки) orders the boat’s crew to fall in and number off.

• The coxswain details members of the crew to do particular jobs

• The harbor pins are cleared

• The crew members enter the boat

• The plug (заглушка) is shipped

• The toggle painter (фалинь) is secured to the ship

• The gripes (найтовы) are cleared away

• The boat is lowered to the embarkation deck

• The bowsing tackles (прижимные тали) are secured and the boat bowsed in

• The tricing pennants (оттяжка) are slipped (to slip – травить)

• The passengers and the crew embark

• The bowsing tackles are released

• The boat is lowered to the water

Each life-boat must carry a standard set of equipment listed below:

• Oars painters

• Crutches(уключины) gallon of storm oil

• Boat hooks hand flares

• Bailer smoke signals

• Buckets parachute signals

• Plugs first-aid kit

• Rudder and tiller waterproof torch

• Double lifeline round boat signaling mirror

• Locker jack-knife

• Hatches buoyant heaving lines

• Lamp manual pump

• Water-tight box whistle

• Mast fishing lines with hooks

• Sails copy of the Department of

• Compass Trade Rescue Table

• Sea anchor exposure cover rations (food and water)

Besides, life-boats fitted with an engine must have additional equipment and fittings related to it.

Partially enclosed life-boats are also used on many ships particularly on passenger vessels. In emergency these can be occupied by more persons more quickly. They are not suitable for free-fall launching and are always stowed underneath special launching appliances.

Free-fall boats are totally enclosed life-boats stowed on a specially designed launching appliance at the stern. They are fitted with special bucket seats (ковшеобразные сиденья) and safety belts.

Totally enclosed life-boats are made self-righting (самовосстанавливающийся). They may be equipped with an air supply independent of the ambient air (окружающая атмосфера) and with special fire protection (water spray system). In addition to the above mentioned features the totally enclosed life-boats carried by tankers must be made of non-combustible material.

Rescue boat. Rescue boats have two principal purposes, namely:

• the rapid rescue of persons floating in the water

• the gathering, keeping in position and towing of life-rafts.

They are built and equipped with these designated purposes in mind.

Rescue boats may be of rigid or inflatable construction, or of a combination of both. Their length must be not less than 3.8m and not more than 8.5m. They must be capable of holding at least 5 persons seated and one person lying down. They must either have an adequate sheer (изгиб, седловатость палубы) or have a bow canopy extending over at least 15 % of the length.

Rescue boats have either an inboard or outboard motor. That enables them to achieve a speed of at least 6kt running free and 2kt towing. The crew of a rescue boat consists of two or three persons.

For inflatable rescue boats there are different, special regulations. They are so constructed that, hanging in inflated condition in their launching or recovery appliance with a full crew and fully equipped, they can be launched or recovered.

Stowed on the open deck without protection, they must be capable of withstanding all weather conditions on the open sea. The same applies afloat for 30 days.

The rescue boat must at all times be kept fully inflated and equipped, ready for use.

Life-raft. Cargo vessels, passenger ships and fishing boats are equipped with approved life-rafts. Their number, type and carrying capacity are determined by regulations and additional requirements. In most cases life-rafts are automatically inflatable. Depending upon their carrying capacity, when being launched, inflatable life-rafts may be thrown overboard or launched by davits.

All life-rafts are so installed that they can be launched quickly, securely and safely – if possible by one man –even with 20 degrees list, over the high side. For that reason life-rafts are nowadays almost always stowed on swinging-out storage frames (откидывающийся киль-блок), inclined ramps or equivalent appliances.

Every inflatable life-raft is made from coated synthetic fabric and as a rule is packed tightly folded in a plastic container. The weight of a life-raft including its packaging and full distress gear (аварийное снаряжение) lies between 100kg and 185kg, depending on the size of the raft.

Every inflatable life-raft shall comply with the following requirements:

• Material and type are approved. A life-raft afloat withstands all weather conditions at sea for 30 days

• It is operable over an air temperature range from – 30 degrees to +66 degrees centigrade

• It is stowed in buoyant container

• It can be thrown into the water in its container without the raft or its gear suffering any damage

• Inflated, it has adequate stability in a seaway (открытое море)

• The buoyancy tubes (камеры плавучести) are subdivided into an even number of compartments in such a way that the raft still floats even if only half the compartments are inflated

• The floor is waterproof and can be inflated for insulation against cold

• It has a canopy of a clearly visible colour, which protects the occupants from the effects of the weather. It has a light on the top, inside it can be lit with an electric lamp fed from a salt water battery

• All life-rafts must have required supplies of food, water, first-aid kit and different equipment and materials.