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Abandoning ship?

candycaramel

By candycaramel,
in Norwegian Cruise Line

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candycaramel

candycaramel

Posted
Posted

At what point do they put passengers in life boats and send them off for the coast guard, another ship or military navy ship to pick them up?

I mean the crew could stay on board but hittingrocks and fires that disable systems and no evacuation.

Just how far below the surface do you have to be before the lifeboats

come into play?

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sdmike

sdmike

Posted
Posted
At what point do they put passengers in life boats and send them off for the coast guard, another ship or military navy ship to pick them up?

I mean the crew could stay on board but hittingrocks and fires that disable systems and no evacuation.

Just how far below the surface do you have to be before the lifeboats

come into play?

 

It's up to the captain. I would guess that if staying on the ship is a bigger threat than getting off the ship, they would evacuate. If the ship is no longer sea worthy, I'm sure they would put folks in boats that are.

 

I'm sure with the Concordia once they realized the severity of the problem they evacuated. The CCL problem off Mexico this week, and the one in the Pacific last year, the ship were still sea worthy but pax certainly had some hardships resulting from lack of power. However, they were not in any great risk.

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Laszlo

Laszlo

Posted
Posted

99% of the time you only abandon ship when you have imminent danger of sinking. It up to the Captain to make the call

 

 

FYI

On my cruises I take with me (1) handheld waterproof VHF radio and (1) Handheld Personal EPIRB with GPS. Most people don't have these, but since I own a boat I take then with me..............just in case;)

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scottamemnon

scottamemnon

Posted
Posted

Being stuck in the deep ocean in a little, unstabilized lifeboat is much worse than being stuck on a massive ship with no power.

 

There would be accidents when boarding them and no medical facilities to help the injured beyond simple first aid.

 

The Coast Guard cutter would also not be able to take all the passengers on board.

 

Then there are always the possibilities of rogue waves or bad weather in the tropics, either of these can test the structural limits of the lifeboats.

 

It is very hard for a vessel to go down due to a simple accident. There would have to be a catastrophic failure, like the Concordia indecent, to merit an evacuation.

 

Otherwise the chances of injury and death are greater in the evacuation.

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DMLyons

DMLyons

Posted
Posted
It's up to the captain. I would guess that if staying on the ship is a bigger threat than getting off the ship, they would evacuate. If the ship is no longer sea worthy, I'm sure they would put folks in boats that are.

 

Ditto this. Plus, if the ship starts to list, they want to get people off. For one thing, it will be more difficult to get them off if the ship lists too far to make life boats on that side useable.

 

DML

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umpy10

umpy10

Posted
Posted
About four hours after hitting the iceberg

 

 

LOL ......... Oh my :eek: , grab a chair , some popcorn and a beverage. This should get some dandy responses.

But it is funny, no disrespect intended.

 

 

cheers...the Ump...:D

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Lacaena

Lacaena

Posted
Posted

If a ship was still seaworthy I would much rather stay on board even if it meant some hardships and no power. In addition to what Scottamemnon said about the dangers relating to lifeboats and the loading of them, I've heard that they are VERY small and VERY cramped. Last I heard crew members are required to do a full lifeboat drill at the beginning of their contract. I have heard that with the lifeboat at full capacity with crew it is shoulder to shoulder. My experience with crew is that they are significantly smaller than your average American. I can't imagine what would happen if they tried to pack the lifeboats full of Americans. Plus they are enclosed, just thinking about it makes me feel claustrophobic! Fingers crossed none of us will ever have to experience that :)

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DevCruise

DevCruise

Posted
Posted
If a ship was still seaworthy I would much rather stay on board even if it meant some hardships and no power. In addition to what Scottamemnon said about the dangers relating to lifeboats and the loading of them, I've heard that they are VERY small and VERY cramped. Last I heard crew members are required to do a full lifeboat drill at the beginning of their contract. I have heard that with the lifeboat at full capacity with crew it is shoulder to shoulder. My experience with crew is that they are significantly smaller than your average American. I can't imagine what would happen if they tried to pack the lifeboats full of Americans. Plus they are enclosed, just thinking about it makes me feel claustrophobic! Fingers crossed none of us will ever have to experience that :)

 

This is something I found based on the Spirit class ships:

 

12 x partially enclosed lifeboats (capacity 150 persons each)

 

2 x semi-rigid man overboard rescue lifeboats.

 

6 x enclosed cruise tender/ lifeboats (capacity 150 persons each),

 

52 x inflatable lifecrafts (capacity 35 persons each)

 

It wouldn't be a fun time in the lifeboat either. Small space, packed in like sardines. Nowhere to walk around. No climate control last I checked. Any food is probably sea rations at best. And depending on how far out, not enough fuel to get to shore. So now you're adrift in a little boat than in a much bigger boat. And forget about taking all your stuff with you. That's all staying on the ship.

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sdmike

sdmike

Posted
Posted

Let me give you a good idea why I prefer to stay on board unless I'm sinking or on fire.

 

The Epic has large, state of the art lifeboats. You can actually read about them online. They're pretty cool. Anyway, here you see one of them

 

143-vi.jpg

 

Ok, since they span around 5 balconies one would think they could hold 5 balconies worth of people. 10-15 people on an epic balcony would be pretty crowded, right? So that's like 50-75 folks in a life boat. Ok..makes sense. However...

 

1665-vi.jpg

 

:eek:

 

Having said that, here's a look at the inside. People are stacked in layers to cram that many in a boat. The legs of the folks in the upper seats straddle the heads of the people in the lower seats

 

1662-vi.jpg

 

Also, if you do the math, not all passengers would fit in the lifeboats. That brings these into play...rafts.

 

1653-vi.jpg

 

So unless the big girl is sinking, I'd much rather deal with conditions on the ship than what this would turn into (you think sanitation is bad on a ship without power, how do you think it is on a lifeboat?)

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sdmike

sdmike

Posted
Posted
Correct me if I'm wrong, and I certainly do not mean any disrespect when I say this, but I thought the inflatable rafts were for the evacuation of crew-members?

 

Actually, you're correct. I did the math wrong. The 20 lifeboats could theoretically hold over 5,000 passengers. That's more than the 4,100 double occupancy, but the ship often holds more than that. Not sure how often though.

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RACRLS

RACRLS

Posted
Posted

What happens if the sea is rough (likely) and people start to get seasick (also likely). If the person sitting above or next to you vomits, the result would be quite unpleasant. I would much rather stay on the ship in the situation under discussion.

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sdmike

sdmike

Posted
Posted
What happens if the sea is rough (likely) and people start to get seasick (also likely). If the person sitting above or next to you vomits, the result would be quite unpleasant. I would much rather stay on the ship in the situation under discussion.

 

Yep...and other bodily functions. Think about the smell inside one of those in 100 degree heat and humidity packed with 250+ pax

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