candycaramel Posted February 13, 2013 #1 Share Posted February 13, 2013 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? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sdmike Posted February 13, 2013 #2 Share Posted February 13, 2013 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Laszlo Posted February 13, 2013 #3 Share Posted February 13, 2013 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;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scottamemnon Posted February 13, 2013 #4 Share Posted February 13, 2013 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DMLyons Posted February 14, 2013 #5 Share Posted February 14, 2013 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carnac767 Posted February 14, 2013 #6 Share Posted February 14, 2013 About four hours after hitting the iceberg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
umpy10 Posted February 14, 2013 #7 Share Posted February 14, 2013 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lacaena Posted February 14, 2013 #8 Share Posted February 14, 2013 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 :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DevCruise Posted February 14, 2013 #9 Share Posted February 14, 2013 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TruckerDave Posted February 14, 2013 #10 Share Posted February 14, 2013 This topic has NEVER crossed my mind. Even when I was in the Navy and out in the middle of the Pacific where any rescue was days away, I never thought about it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sdmike Posted February 14, 2013 #11 Share Posted February 14, 2013 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 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... :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 Also, if you do the math, not all passengers would fit in the lifeboats. That brings these into play...rafts. 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?) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ColinIllinois Posted February 14, 2013 #12 Share Posted February 14, 2013 When I was on the Epic last year the first day I put a towel and a book on one of the seats in the lifeboat to save it for me.........just in case. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sdmike Posted February 14, 2013 #13 Share Posted February 14, 2013 When I was on the Epic last year the first day I put a towel and a book on one of the seats in the lifeboat to save it for me.........just in case. Now that's just good stuff right there... :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YankeeFan4Ever Posted February 14, 2013 #14 Share Posted February 14, 2013 Also, if you do the math, not all passengers would fit in the lifeboats. That brings these into play...rafts. 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? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sdmike Posted February 14, 2013 #15 Share Posted February 14, 2013 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RACRLS Posted February 14, 2013 #16 Share Posted February 14, 2013 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sdmike Posted February 14, 2013 #17 Share Posted February 14, 2013 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sdmike Posted February 14, 2013 #18 Share Posted February 14, 2013 Epic lifeboats were designed and built by Fassmer. This approach to packing people into the boats enabled the building of megaships like the Oasis and Epic. Here's more info http://exchange.dnv.com/taridocs/TA-CERT/49/08233564.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YankeeFan4Ever Posted February 14, 2013 #19 Share Posted February 14, 2013 Yep...and other bodily functions. Think about the smell inside one of those in 100 degree heat and humidity packed with 250+ pax That would be awful...:( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ddakrt Posted February 14, 2013 #20 Share Posted February 14, 2013 Abandoning ship is the absolute last resort, you only do so if passenger lives are in immediate danger. The ship itself is always the best lifeboat there is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carnac767 Posted February 14, 2013 #21 Share Posted February 14, 2013 When I was on the Epic last year the first day I put a towel and a book on one of the seats in the lifeboat to save it for me.........just in case. Lifeboat hog Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burpelson Posted February 14, 2013 #22 Share Posted February 14, 2013 Well, those lifeboats are themselves luxury liners compared to say, those for the Titanic - can you imagine hitting the frigid North Atlantic in an open rowboat? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barb Nahoumi Posted February 16, 2013 #23 Share Posted February 16, 2013 Even if another ship pulled up along side, it would be difficult to load the pax into life boats, then have them climb rope ladders to board the other ship. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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