Lifeboats -- For Better or Worse

[triptastic3]

so when a cruise ship has 4000 people onboard, how many lifeboats do they need?  I don't see 30-40 of them.

 

It isn't the number they need, it is the capacity they require. Some of the modern life boats hold hundreds. So in your 4000 scenario If they each held 250 people then 8 per side would be needed to get to 2000 capacity per side. The more they hold the fewer they need. The more pax and crew the greater the number.

 

Each side of the ship must have the capacity for 50% of the total souls on board, pax and crew, to be accommodated in covered life boats. Then the ship must have a number of inflatable life rafts to cover an additional 25% of the total for a total capacity of 125%

 

However with waivers this can be reduced to 37.5% covered lifeboat capacity each side for a total of 75%, they then need inflatable life rafts capable of taking 50% of the total. Still the same 125% total. In an example like the Costa Concordia there are not enough covered life boats for everyone on board, some will have to go in the inflatable life rafts. The reason for the required extra capacity is the expectation that not every life boat will be deployable. This could be due to damage, the listing of the ship, fire in the area etc.

 

The inflatable life rafts can be deployed manually. However most are equipped with hydrostatic switches, this basically means when they are submerged, they automatically open and deploy, shooting to the surface. It is a sight to see when they start bursting inflated to the surface.

 

It is interesting how a humourous take on the muster drill can lead a discussion going down a rabbit hole. 99.99% of the time the life boats and other equipment are never needed and so people don't think about them. But they are there for a reason that is rarely talked about.

Edited September 18, 2019 by triptastic3

[Oakman58]

14 hours ago, ColeThornton said:

You sound like one of those cruisers who would put a towel out on the lifeboat deck to save a seat all day.

 

Yes, that is exactly what I did.  And to cover all bases I put out a towel and book to reserve my spot on the sundeck of two of those fancy lifeboats, one on the port side and one on the starboard.

But wait, there was one other boat that I reserved a seat on.  I also put out a towel and book to reserve my seat on the ship's fancy little speed boat with the spoiler on the back.  That's right, in the event of an emergency I might be the one you see water skiing back to shore.

 

By the way, the "regular" lifeboats on the Breakaway have a listed capacity of 305 persons.  Here's the real question; is there a toilet on those lifeboats?  I've been in the lifeboats that are used for tendering at some ports and I don't recall seeing a toilet anywhere.  305 people and no toilet...Uh, Houston, we've had a problem.

 

[shof515]

1 hour ago, Oakman58 said:

 

By the way, the "regular" lifeboats on the Breakaway have a listed capacity of 305 persons.  Here's the real question; is there a toilet on those lifeboats?  I've been in the lifeboats that are used for tendering at some ports and I don't recall seeing a toilet anywhere.  305 people and no toilet...Uh, Houston, we've had a problem.

 

 

I think they might use some kind of chamber pot 🤢

[adam_s_allen]

1 hour ago, Oakman58 said:

Here's the real question; is there a toilet on those lifeboats?  I've been in the lifeboats that are used for tendering at some ports and I don't recall seeing a toilet anywhere.  305 people and no toilet...Uh, Houston, we've had a problem.

 

It’s gonna get real intimate real fast with 300 of your new friends when they just plop a bucket down in the center of the lifeboats.

[ColeThornton]

1 hour ago, Oakman58 said:

 

 

 

By the way, the "regular" lifeboats on the Breakaway have a listed capacity of 305 persons.  Here's the real question; is there a toilet on those lifeboats?  I've been in the lifeboats that are used for tendering at some ports and I don't recall seeing a toilet anywhere.  305 people and no toilet...Uh, Houston, we've had a problem.

 

 

 

Not to worry, if there is a real emergency where people are being evacuated and the ship is listing most of the people will have pooped in their pants.

[justhappy]

2 hours ago, Oakman58 said:

 

Yes, that is exactly what I did.  And to cover all bases I put out a towel and book to reserve my spot on the sundeck of two of those fancy lifeboats, one on the port side and one on the starboard.

But wait, there was one other boat that I reserved a seat on.  I also put out a towel and book to reserve my seat on the ship's fancy little speed boat with the spoiler on the back.  That's right, in the event of an emergency I might be the one you see water skiing back to shore.

 

By the way, the "regular" lifeboats on the Breakaway have a listed capacity of 305 persons.  Here's the real question; is there a toilet on those lifeboats?  I've been in the lifeboats that are used for tendering at some ports and I don't recall seeing a toilet anywhere.  305 people and no toilet...Uh, Houston, we've had a problem.

 

Make sure you request of the captain to have speakers installed on that spoiler  so you can ski with your favorite music blaring! 😉

Edited September 18, 2019 by justhappy

[adam_s_allen]

11 minutes ago, justhappy said:

Make sure you request of the captain to have speakers installed on that spoiler  so you can ski with your favorite music blaring! 😉

The deluxe water skiing package with speakers installed on the lifeboats will run you about $299 plus 20% gratuity.

[justhappy]

Just now, adam_s_allen said:

The deluxe water skiing package with speakers installed on the lifeboats will run you about $299 plus 20% gratuity.

A bargain!

[Barb Nahoumi]

Whatever boat you're assigned to  will be very bumpy on the open sea.  Bring your seasick meds along.  You're gonna need them.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[lambs2]

17 hours ago, Son of a son of a ... said:

The inflatables are for crew.  Kpcheng would have much better info

That was NOT the case about 12 years ago! We stood in front of our inflatable "keg" during that RCCL lifeboat drill and the crew member assigned to our group pointed it out specificlly to us!! 😱

Edited September 18, 2019 by lambs2

[vettprincess]

Thank you all for the extremely funny comments these past 2 days. Laughed so hard this am hurt my back a little. Can't stop laughing all day when I replay the comments in my head. Just great.

 

[Xmas515]

I've paid the air deviation fee... would that not entitle me to helicopter pick up?  How much should I tip the pilot?

[Sweetnspicy]

3 hours ago, ColeThornton said:

 

 

Not to worry, if there is a real emergency where people are being evacuated and the ship is listing most of the people will have pooped in their pants.

🤣🤣🤣🤣 

[Sweetnspicy]

3 hours ago, adam_s_allen said:

It’s gonna get real intimate real fast with 300 of your new friends when they just plop a bucket down in the center of the lifeboats.

I thought you just jump over the side and hold on while you pee? No? 

[justhappy]

19 minutes ago, Xmas515 said:

I've paid the air deviation fee... would that not entitle me to helicopter pick up?  How much should I tip the pilot?

They usually ask in way of a tip you bring them a drink from the bar and two dozen wings from O’Sheehans

[Catchum]

During a sail away on the Jade out of a UK port one of our fellow passengers pointed out the barrel shaped inflatable life rafts on another ship and told his girlfriend they were bombs.

 

When it was gently pointed out that they were life rafts and the Jade also had them he was devastated - apparently as  a kid he had a toy boat with bombs which looked just like the life rafts and had gone through his entire life confident that most ships carried bombs!

[ziggyuk]

16 minutes ago, Catchum said:

During a sail away on the Jade out of a UK port one of our fellow passengers pointed out the barrel shaped inflatable life rafts on another ship and told his girlfriend they were bombs.

 

When it was gently pointed out that they were life rafts and the Jade also had them he was devastated - apparently as  a kid he had a toy boat with bombs which looked just like the life rafts and had gone through his entire life confident that most ships carried bombs!

 

Hahaha depth charges on a cruise ship 💣💣💣💣

[PelicanBill]

HAHA I tell people those are depth charges in case of pirates.

[Oakman58]

1 hour ago, Sweetnspicy said:

I thought you just jump over the side and hold on while you pee? No? 

 

Absolutely correct.  That why the lifeboats have those loops of rope along the side.  The more loops there are, the more people can go at one time.

 

Edited September 18, 2019 by Oakman58

[nyc2pdx]

No peeing in the pool!

[chengkp75]

Okay, another lifeboat thread.  Lots of info here, lots of misinformation as well.

 

First, lets start with the OP.  Those boats are the tender/lifeboats.  The seating on the top will not be used when used as a lifeboat (you will see the boat has two capacities, one as tender, one as lifeboat.

 

Next, special needs.  There are crew assigned to assist pax with special needs, and will be sent to find those people if they are not at muster (most ships have a special needs muster location as well).  The special needs people will be transported to the boats as needed, no mobility aids will come to the boat or in the boat (walker stays behind).  If required, such as for a wheelchair bound pax, the crew will carry them to the boat.

 

Next, life rafts.  The round canister type rafts are for the crew.  The large square box is a MES (Marine Evacuation System), and contains the chute and two to four rafts.  This type of life raft is allowed for passenger use (some ships have them for the "overflow" above normal capacity up to max capacity), as the required number of people can evacuate in the required time.  The davit launched round canister rafts are slower and don't meet the time requirements for passengers.  The chute is not a "free fall", there are baffles in the chute to slow you down.

 

And, since it gets trotted out every time there is a discussion about lifeboats, let's look at the Concordia.  The 75% of all souls that was the lifeboat capacity equals the passenger capacity of the ship (more than double occupancy, nearly max capacity).  For the most part, the rafts were for the crew, as it is on nearly every cruise ship afloat.  The Concordia did not list more than 10* either way for over an hour, until the ship grounded again on the island, and free-surface took over with the pivot point of the grounding.  Had the ship not been blown back onto the island, she would have sunk upright, but slightly down by the stern  I mention 10* of list, since lifeboats and liferafts are required to be able to be launched with lists of up to 20*.  Had Schettino mustered the passengers in a timely fashion, and had he acknowledged that with 3 consecutive compartments flooding there was nothing on this earth that would keep the ship afloat, the boats could have been launched with the ship upright.

 

Next, a specific answer.  If a ship has 4000 souls onboard (I'm assuming you mean all souls, pax and crew), then they need 3000 in lifeboat capacity, and if the 4000 represents the maximum capacity, then they need 5000 in total life saving capacity (boats and rafts).  It gets a little confusing unless you use specific terms like "maximum capacity" and "all souls".  The largest lifeboats made are for the Oasis class ships, and hold 375 persons.

 

Next, toilets.  Only the boats on the Oasis class ships, the 375 person boats, have toilets.  Just know that it is a toilet, not a bathroom, so modesty goes out the window.  Other boats use the "big blue toilet", hanging your butt over the side, just like the sailing ship sailors used to "going to the head (the stays on the bowsprit)".

[lenquixote66]

22 hours ago, Oakman58 said:

Is this a tongue in cheek post or am I serious?  I'll let you decide.

 

Since Norwegian's official muster stations are located within the ship at various venues such as dining rooms, lounges, the theater, etc. I do my own lifeboat drill soon after muster or on the following day.  Not all lifeboats are equal, some are better than others and I look for the best.

 

In the event of a disaster like the Costa Concordia experienced I can't imagine going to an interior muster station to have a crew member take me to the appropriate lifeboat for evacuation.  Would they hold passengers at the muster station until everyone shows up and then take everyone to a lifeboat?  Just how is this supposed to work?  Is there any guarantee that the crew members will even be at the muster station and not panic and abandon ship?  Even the Captain of the Concordia panicked and "slipped and fell" into a lifeboat.  This is why I do my own lifeboat drill.

 

On my Breakaway cruise last week I discovered there were three lifeboats on each side of the ship that were much better than the others.  These would be the lifeboats I would head to in case of an abandon ship event.  These six lifeboats had windows on the sides, they were equipped with marine radar, and they even had a sundeck.  My thinking is any lifeboat with a sundeck would probably have a lounge and nice toilets too.

 

Here are a few pictures to give you an idea of what I'm talking about.  Here's a typical lifeboat.

 

It certainly looks good enough to save lives.

 

Here are the lifeboats I will head to.  Notice the designer windows on the side of the lifeboats.  Hmmm, these lifeboats look a lot nicer than the others.

 

Notice these lifeboats are equipped with a radar dome.

 

And how fancy is this?  A sundeck on a lifeboat, how sweet is that?

 

So if I'm ever on the Breakaway and there is an abandon ship event, don't look for me at the muster station, I'll already be on the sundeck of one of those fancy lifeboats and probably sipping on a martini from the lifeboat's lounge.  Cheers!

Not everyone would want to go on a lifeboat but they do not get the opportunity.

[Sauer-kraut]

Thanks chengkp for the factual information.  Very interesting information about the baffles in the chutes, I didn't realize there was something in there to slow one down.

[chengkp75]

On 9/17/2019 at 5:16 PM, Oakman58 said:

In the event of a disaster like the Costa Concordia experienced I can't imagine going to an interior muster station to have a crew member take me to the appropriate lifeboat for evacuation.  Would they hold passengers at the muster station until everyone shows up and then take everyone to a lifeboat?  Just how is this supposed to work?  Is there any guarantee that the crew members will even be at the muster station and not panic and abandon ship?  Even the Captain of the Concordia panicked and "slipped and fell" into a lifeboat.  This is why I do my own lifeboat drill.

Yes, you would go to the inside muster location, and await instructions.  The problem with the Concordia is that the passengers were not mustered in a timely fashion.  Schettino knew within 10 minutes that the ship was going to sink, but he failed to call for muster until they signaled abandon ship.  Muster is for accountability, so yes, they will hold you until everyone is accounted for, and the Captain should not signal to evacuate until all passengers are accounted for, which is why it is critical to muster in a timely fashion.  Many passenger musters are during emergencies, and the Captain has no intention of evacuating the ship, and most times the passengers return to normal from their muster stations, far more times than they ever actually go to the boats.  If you read the official report of the Concordia, the crew did an excellent job, given that they had no direction from above, and could only follow the instructions that they were given, which was that there was no need to muster, and sent the passengers away.  The crew drill and train for emergencies, and many will actually be involved in emergency situations (there are more fires on cruise ships than passengers know), so in most cases the "muscle memory" from drills will take over and the crew will perform their functions.  While most passengers think that the signal for muster is the "abandon ship" signal, it is not, it is the signal for "fire and general emergency", but since the passengers have no duties, it is for them to muster for accountability.  Even if the Captain orders the passengers to board the boats and evacuate, this is not the "abandon ship".  The crew remain at their emergency stations until the passengers are away, and then if he feels it is warranted, the Captain will signal "abandon ship" (one prolonged blast on the whistle and bells), and the crew will move from their emergency stations to their abandon ship stations.

 

I applaud your doing your "own boat drill", you should practice getting to your muster station from various locations around the ship, with fire blocking passage in various locations.  However, your idea of going directly to the boats is flawed, and will only result in crew members being drawn from other emergency duties to go looking for you as you are missing from muster.

[chengkp75]

28 minutes ago, Sauer-kraut said:

Thanks chengkp for the factual information.  Very interesting information about the baffles in the chutes, I didn't realize there was something in there to slow one down.

You get kind of beat around going down, and there have been some broken arms on crew who didn't pay attention to the instructions.