DNV—GL — COMPETENCE OF LIFEBOAT COXWAINS

Effective operating of the lifeboats on board ships poses specific challenges for the lifeboat coxswain and crew members with reference to their launching and recovery as well as handling the boat and survival in any hostile environment, following the abandonment.

The present overview of competencies provided by the professionals of the DNV GL class society will help the shipping and offshore industry, from a safety management and a training and assessment perspectives. The emphasis of this standard has been made on the emergency evacuation activities, using the motor-propelled survival crafts. Both conventional and free-fall types of lifeboats have been covered by the competencies in this standard. Such competencies shall also apply to operating a designated lifeboat for the purposes of rescue or towing.

Taking into account that the davit-launched liferafts are often considered a back-up means in cases where a lifeboat becomes unavailable, the coxswain must also have good skills in preparing and launching this type of rescue craft, with the crew member assigned to him. In case these rafts are treated as a primary means of evacuation, the emergency organisation on board must have dedicated crew members for both the launching stations and the liferafts, whose tasks will differ from the lifeboat coxswain that are addressed in this standard. The basic sea-survival competencies required for all seafarers are not covered by this document.