Abandon Ship and Man Overboard

If orders to abandon ship are communicated via the sound system or crew radio, keep calming and informing guests about what is about to happen. Remember, this is a situation you and your colleagues have practiced for, while the guests may feel much more lost. It can be calming for both you and the guests to refer to the captain's orders:

Crew: “Orders from the captain, we have to leave the ship. Stay calm and follow the instructions. Keep your lifejackets on at all times.” 

When abandoning ships via lifeboats or MES stations, stairs and corridors tend to get crowded. Try to calm guests while keeping the process efficient, as time might be of the essence. Keep informing, and show presence and leadership:

“Move forward, please”

“Please make room”

Importance of Standards

In cases of distress and emergencies, following standards for communication is extra important to avoid misunderstandings.

Listen to an example of radio communication during ship abandoning:

Man Overboard (MOB)

A very serious potential incident is, of course, MOB, an accident involving a man overboard. Procedures, when someone is missing, presumed to be in the water or located in the water, are to:

• Throw the lifebuoy.
• Alert the bridge.
• Keep sight of the person in the water.

Further, necessary measures can then be taken, like marking the spot of the incident with a smoke float or deploying a fast rescue boat. Important vocabulary for MOB occasions:

• MOB – Man overboard.
• Lifebuoy.
• FRB – Fast rescue boat.
• Smoke float or Lifebouy with Smoke.