Dont wear Blue overalls on deck

[Beef1992]

My reasons for saying this is that whilst i was away at sea , a cadet on another of my Companies ships was tragically lost at sea . When he fell overboard Whilst attaching his harness when painting a lifeboat .
The search for this deck cadet lasted for 3days involving ships and air assets unfortunately he was never found .

Due to the incident the accident report was submitted to all ships in the fleet , and while reading this it raised two points . Don't be left or leave someone unsupervised when working on Dangerous jobs , if your the cadet wait for the officer to come back even if its so he can take a piss. If you'r the officer tell him to stop and wait until your back.

Now my main point , alot of companies issue non logo'd boiler suits to there staff . some of these maybe blue if working on deck try not to wear dark overalls especially blue or black as the search for this cadet was made difficult due to the Colour of his boiler suit . My company then set out a standing order for all crew to wear there red Boiler suits whilst working on deck , and also issued reflective tape to the ships crew to place onto there boiler suits until new high Vis boiler suits could be ordered .

[AlternativeNavs]

Tragic.

Although, I would hope a lifejacket was also being worn at the time?

[size4riggerboots]

The percieved wisdom is that if you have a harness on, you'll be attached to the ship when in any dangerous place. And therefore a life-jacket generally isn't worn, plus, even the inflatable life-jackets are fairly bulky and make life even more difficult when working, especially if working in a harness. There should be two clips on the harness so that you are always clipped on, moving one clip, then the other when changing your position. Beef says they fell overboard whilest attaching his harness, which to me says he was doing something wrong... attach harness then move to dangerous place, not the other way around. Yes he should have been supervised, and yes brightly coloured boiler suits are a good plan, but common sense is also useful.

[AlternativeNavs]

The percieved wisdom is that if you have a harness on, you'll be attached to the ship when in any dangerous place. And therefore a life-jacket generally isn't worn, plus, even the inflatable life-jackets are fairly bulky and make life even more difficult when working, especially if working in a harness. There should be two clips on the harness so that you are always clipped on, moving one clip, then the other when changing your position. Beef says they fell overboard whilest attaching his harness, which to me says he was doing something wrong... attach harness then move to dangerous place, not the other way around. Yes he should have been supervised, and yes brightly coloured boiler suits are a good plan, but common sense is also useful.

Obviously, in this instance, there was a risk that the person undertaking the work may fall overboard between making his way over any guard rails to the point of attachment. To me there is very real risk of the person falling into the drink either positioning themselves or moving across the boat. In any case if you fall into the sea while wearing the PFD you may find you are more visible to any search assets that may be tasked to look for you.

As for your 'perceived wisdom' you may wish to revise your answer reference the 'The Code of Safe Working Practices for Merchant Seamen' (Consolidated 2010) in particular;

15.2.5 Personnel working aloft should wear safety harness with lifeline or other attesting device at all times (see section 4.10). A safety net should be rigged where necessary and appropriate. Additionally, where work is done overside, buoyancy garments should be worn and a lifebuoy with sufficient line attached should be kept ready for immediate use. Personnel should be under observation from a person on deck.

(They even provide a picture with crew members working on top of a lifeboat - for clarity)

and

15.2.6 Other than emergency situations personnel should not work overside whilst the vessel is underway. If such work has to be undertaken lifeboats or rescue boats should be ready for immediate use. Any such work should be closely monitored/watched by a responsible person.

In any case the task should have not been undertaken without the direct supervision of a responsible Officer.

[size4riggerboots]

I stand corrected. Sadly though, it appears these COSWP guidelines were not adhered to, and the consequences of this should be taken to heart. I said 'perceived wisdom' not because it is what I believed the rules say, but is it what I have experienced in the real world. If he were climbing over guard rails to reach the place that the work was to be carried out, surely he could/should have clipped onto the rail itself? And when moving across the boat, there is a wire between the davits that would serve the same purpose. The two clips on a harness generally reach just over an arms length away, so in most circumstances it is possible to remain clipped on by one at all times when moving about.

[Beef1992]

The accident report stated that , this cadet had A compressed air inflating life jacket , and the harness . it was however when he came to attach his shock Absorber that he fell . The reason for his death was lack of experience and poor supervision .

How ever the search was hampered by the fact of Colour as the boiler suit and inflatable are both blue until inflated .

[AlternativeNavs]

The accident report stated that , this cadet had A compressed air inflating life jacket , and the harness . it was however when he came to attach his shock Absorber that he fell . The reason for his death was lack of experience and poor supervision .

How ever the search was hampered by the fact of Colour as the boiler suit and inflatable are both blue until inflated .

Assuming the lifejacket did not go off?

Many companies have different boiler suits depending on the tasks to be undertaken. My company for example has orange (with reflectors), red, white and blue.

[Faust]

My company issue Orange boiler suits to the deck crew, red to deck officers and white to the engineers.

I think this makes sense, white shows blood - engineers working with dangerous/sharp equipment and machinery. Orange is visible on deck/in the water - which I think is pretty important for cargo operations or to aid in a search and rescue. I can't see their logic in red for deck officers though, apart from it brings out my eyes.

They also use rigger boots, I think this important when their is a chance of falling over board, as they can be kicked off when in the water, steel toe boots tend to sink, I'd rather not be attached.

[GuinnessMan]

You don't really need to have a white boiler suit to show blood. If someone does hurt themselves in the Engine Room then they will most likely be standing there screaming/swearing and leaking all over the place.

You have to remember, when you are in the water, the only part of you that a helicopter is going to see is your head and the tops of your shoulders. Whilst a brightly coloured boilersuit will help, it won't help that much unless you take it off and wave it above your head (there is a way as well to turn them into a crude lifejacket as well, but I can't fully remember how).

[size4riggerboots]

The accident report stated that , this cadet had A compressed air inflating life jacket , and the harness . it was however when he came to attach his shock Absorber that he fell . The reason for his death was lack of experience and poor supervision .

Okay, but the harness is NO USE if not attached, whether the lanyards have shock absorbers or not, there should be two clips to clip onto things around you, one of which should be clipped on at all times.