Personal Life-Saving Appliances

Lifebuoys

A certain number of lifebuoys must exist on every vessel. The number varies depending on the length and type of the ship. The lifebuoys should be placed in such a way that they are easily accessible on both sides of the yacht. The lifebuoys must be ready to be rapidly cast off when required. They must, by no means, be permanently fastened. All lifebuoys must be equipped with reflection tapes, the name and port of registry of the yacht shall be marked on each lifebuoy in legible (easy to read) block lettering. There are typically four types of lifebuoys that can be found onboard: 

• Lifebuoy with light.
• Lifebuoy with a line.
• Lifebuoy with light and line.
• Lifebuoy with both light and smoke signal.

SOLAS Requirements

This is the SOLAS requirements regarding lifebuoys. There must always be; 

• At least one lifebuoy on each side must be equipped with a floating line. The length of the line must be twice the distance from the water surface to the position of the lifebuoy but a minimum of 30 meters.
• At least one half of the number of lifebuoys must have a self-igniting light giving a constant or flashing light. The light must be working for at least two hours.
• At least two of the lifebuoys provided with self-igniting lights should also have a self-activating smoke signal emitting a smoke of distinctly visible colour, for at least 15 minutes.
• The lifebuoys must be easy to release. Most ships have a combined light and smoke buoy, a so-called man-overboard-buoy. These lifebuoys must be distributed in equal numbers on both sides of the ship.

And remember, always be aware of the placing of the lifebuoys!

Lifejackets

Normally there are two types of lifejackets found onboard; a lifejacket packed with buoyant material (a rigid lifejacket), and lifejackets that are inflatable:

• The rigid lifejacket is often placed at or near the lifeboat embarkation stations, and at remotely located survival craft stations, and other manned watch stations.
• The inflatable lifejacket is the most commonly used onboard yachts. They are often used in operations with small boats (FRB and workboats), when working over the vessel's side, or when working on an FRB or lifeboat. They are also used when working on the aft deck, working with anchor handling, seismic vessels, and so on.

SOLAS Requirements

This is the SOLAS requirements regarding lifejackets. There must always be; 

• Lifejackets available for every person onboard the yacht.
• Lifejackets suitable for children equal to at least 10% of the number of guests onboard.
• Lifejackets for infants: For passenger ships on voyages that take less than 24 hours, there must be infant lifejackets equal to at least 2,5% of the total number of passengers. For passenger ships on voyages that take longer than 24 hours. There should be lifejackets for all infants onboard (an infant equals a person of less than 15 kg in weight and less than 100 cm in height). A passenger ship is any vessel carrying more than 12 passengers, therefore a yacht carrying more than 12 guests must also comply with this.
• Sufficient number of lifejackets shall be carried for persons on watch and use at remotely located survival craft stations. The lifejackets carried for persons on watch should be stowed on the bridge, in the engine control room, and at any other manned watch station. If the adult lifejackets provided are not designed to fit persons weighing up to 140 kg, and with a chest circumference of up to 1750 mm, a sufficient number of suitable accessories shall always be available onboard.

Each lifejacket onboard shall be equipped with the following:

• A fixed or flashing light.
• A whistle firmly secured by a lanyard.
• A releasable buoyant line or other means to secure it to a lifejacket worn by another person in the water (buddy line).
• A suitable means to allow the rescuer to lift the wearer from the water into a survival craft or rescue boat.

Immersion Suits

The Anti-Exposure Suit (AES) is a protective suit designed for use by the crew in man overboard boats and Marine Evacuation Systems (MES). The suit works to protect you against heat loss and to ensure survival in shorter periods in water. For each person assigned to man a rescue boat or Marine Evacuation System (MES), there must be an immersion suit in a suitable size. 

• For passenger Ships – If the ship is equipped with non-enclosed lifeboats, at least three immersion suits shall be carried for each lifeboat.
• Cargo Ships – An immersion suit of appropriate sizes must be provided for every person on board the ship. There should be additional immersion suits on all workstations located remotely - from places where immersion suits are normally stowed (i.e., bridge and engine room). The number of suits should correspond with the number of persons on watch at those locations.

Note, that these are the minimum requirements. It is very common to find such suits available onboard the yacht for every crew member. 

Thermal Protective Aid

A Thermal Protective Aid (TPA) is a bag or suit made of waterproof material with low thermal conductance. When used, it reduces both the convective and evaporative heat loss from the wearer’s body. A Thermal Protective Aid needs to fit persons of all types and all sizes and should cover everything except the face. Even your hands should be covered unless there are permanently attached gloves included. 

It must be easy to unpack and quickly put on without assistance in a survival craft or rescue boat. A Thermal Protective Aid must permit the wearer to remove it in the water if it impairs his/her ability to swim. It should function properly in air temperature ranges from -30°C to +20°C. All passenger and cargo ships equipped with non-enclosed lifeboats must provide a TPA or an immersion suit for every person accommodated in lifeboats.

There are exceptions for some ships which only operate in hot climates.