Updated Proficiency in Survival Craft & Rescue Boats

This advanced course is designed for seafarers who will take charge of a survival craft or rescue boat during and after launch in an emergency. Through a mix of theoretical knowledge and practical application, you will gain the competence and confidence required to safely manage a survival situation and ensure the well-being of all survivors.

Learning Objectives

Upon completion of this course, you will be able to:

• Operate and Release Survival Craft: Gain a thorough understanding of off-load and on-load release devices, including their specific dangers and correct operation. You'll learn to safely operate the release mechanisms, including hydrostatic interlocks, and properly reset them after use. You will also be able to identify and use Fall Prevention/Secondary Safety Devices.

• Manage Survival Craft and Engine: Master the pre-start preparations and operation of a survival craft engine, including cold-start procedures and basic troubleshooting if the engine fails to start. You will be able to interpret the markings on survival craft to determine their capacity and safely navigate them using oars, power, and a compass.

• Take Command During Launch and Recovery: Learn the correct commands for launching, boarding, and disembarking from survival craft. You'll practice safely launching the craft, quickly clearing the ship's side, and recovering survival craft and rescue boats after use.

• Manage Survivors and Onboard Equipment: Effectively manage survivors and the survival craft after abandoning ship. This includes the proper use of all individual items of equipment within the craft, from pyrotechnics and radio equipment to radar transponders (SARTs). You will understand how to choose and use the appropriate communication equipment for any situation.

• Provide First Aid: Apply essential first aid skills to survivors. This covers using items from the first aid kit, performing resuscitation techniques, and managing common injuries and conditions in a survival environment. You'll learn to handle casualties and treat issues like bleeding and shock, as well as the effects of hypothermia, frostbite, heat exhaustion, and seasickness.

By mastering these critical skills, you will be prepared to lead a survival craft or rescue boat team with a high degree of competence, ensuring the safety of all those under your command.

This course is designed for seafarers who need to update their existing certification. To enroll, you must have:

• A Proficiency in Survival Craft and Rescue Boats (other than fast rescue boats) certificate, or an equivalent qualification such as the MNTB Life Boat Certificate.

• You must have maintained the required standard of competence through onboard training and practical experience and be able to confirm this by completing a self-declaration form.