Survival Craft Types, Equipment, and Launch Procedures — Maritime Crew (deck/engine)

Objective. Students will identify open and enclosed lifeboats, rescue boats, and life rafts; explain their launch and boarding methods; and locate and name every item of required SOLAS survival craft equipment.

Survival Craft Types

Mariners must recognize four main categories of survival craft found on SOLAS-regulated vessels.

Open lifeboats are seldom installed on new vessels but appear on older tonnage. They give crew direct exposure to weather and sea.

Enclosed (totally enclosed) lifeboats are the current standard on most cargo and tanker vessels. A rigid fiberglass hull and weathertight top protect survivors from fire, spray, and cold. Many are free-fall lifeboats, mounted at the stern and launched by releasing a brake so the craft slides down a ramp and enters the water under gravity — no davit required. Free-fall boats require crew to be seated and strapped in before release.

Rescue boats are smaller, fast-maneuvering craft — rigid, inflatable, or rigid-inflatable (RIB) — used to recover persons from the water and to round up survival craft after abandonment. Rescue boats are NOT intended as primary abandon-ship craft for all crew.

Life rafts are the most common survival craft on smaller vessels and are carried as supplemental equipment on ships that also carry lifeboats. SOLAS requires sufficient lifeboat or life raft capacity for everyone on board on each side of the vessel. Life rafts are packed in fiberglass canisters or valise bags and inflate automatically or manually once deployed.

Davit Systems and Launch Procedures

Most lifeboats are launched by gravity davits — curved arms that swing outboard and lower the boat on wire falls. The basic sequence is:

1. Sound the general alarm / receive abandon-ship order.

2. Muster at the designated survival craft station in lifejacket and immersion suit.

3. Remove gripes (lashings) and safety pins.

4. Swing the davit arms out to the embarkation position.

5. Board the craft (or lower to the embarkation deck first, depending on ship design).

6. Secure all personnel; close and dog the hatch on enclosed boats.

7. Lower away using the davit fall wire until the craft is waterborne.

8. Release the hooks (tripping the on-load release with the craft waterborne, or the off-load release as a last resort).

9. Use the boat hook and bowman's line (painter) to clear the ship's side, then start the engine and maneuver clear.

Safety rule: Never operate the off-load hook release while the craft is suspended and loaded — the craft will drop and capsize.

Hydrostatic Release and Life Raft Deployment

Life raft canisters are secured to the vessel with a painter line and a hydrostatic release unit (HRU). The HRU is a pressure-sensitive device. If the vessel sinks, water pressure at approximately 1.5–4 meters depth activates the HRU, cutting the lashing and freeing the canister so the raft floats up and inflates automatically as the painter line pulls taut.

For a manual (wet) release:

1. Confirm the painter line is secured to a strong point on the vessel.

2. Remove securing straps or container clips.

3. Throw or slide the canister clear of the vessel into the water.

4. Pull the painter line hand-over-hand until resistance is felt, then give a sharp tug — the CO₂ cylinder fires and the raft inflates.

5. Pull the raft alongside using the painter, board from the water or from the deck edge, then cut or release the painter only after all survivors are aboard and you are clear of the sinking vessel.

Never cut the painter before inflation is complete — you will lose the raft.

SOLAS Required Equipment Inside Survival Craft

SOLAS Chapter III, Regulation 13 specifies minimum equipment. Every seafarer must be able to locate each item without hesitation. Key items include:

First-aid kit with manual
Drinking water rations (quantity per person per SOLAS table)
Food rations (energy-dense, per person)
Fishing tackle kit
Bailer (manual bailing bucket or pump)
Sea anchor with swivel and line — deployed off the bow to keep the craft headed into seas and reduce drift
Line-throwing appliance (rocket-propelled)
Fire extinguisher (dry chemical, for craft with engines)
Signaling equipment: handheld flares, parachute rockets, smoke signals, mirror, whistle, and a Search and Rescue Transponder (SART) or equivalent on larger vessels
Paddles or oars
Knife (buoyant, sheathed)
Pump for inflatable craft
Compass, instructions for survival, thermal protective aids

During any equipment check, work systematically from forward to aft and port to starboard so no locker is missed.

Roles in Abandon Ship

Each crew member has an assigned role listed in the Muster List (Station Bill) posted throughout the ship. Common roles:

Coxswain: in command of the survival craft, operates the helm and engine, makes all tactical decisions.
Bowman: handles lines forward, assists with hook release, tends the sea anchor.
Lookout: watches for hazards, other survivors, and rescuing vessels; operates signals.
Sick-bay tender: manages first aid, tracks survivor condition, administers water rations.

Safety Reminders

Always wear your lifejacket and, in cold water, your immersion suit before boarding.
Board survival craft in an orderly, calm manner — panic causes injury and capsizing.
Account for every person with a headcount immediately after clearing the vessel.
Use the sea anchor early; it reduces drift and keeps the bow into the sea.
Conserve fresh water — ration it from the first day; do not drink seawater.
Stay with the survival craft unless you are certain of reaching shore safely — rescuers search for craft, not swimmers.

Key terms10

Hydrostatic Release Unit (HRU)A pressure-activated device that automatically frees a life raft canister from its mounting when submerged to a set depth, allowing the raft to float free and inflate.

Painter lineA strong line connecting the life raft canister to the vessel; pulling it taut triggers CO₂ inflation; it must be cut or released before the raft drifts away from a sinking ship.

Gravity davitA curved steel arm and wire-fall system that uses gravity to swing a lifeboat outboard and lower it to the water.

Free-fall lifeboatAn enclosed lifeboat mounted on a stern ramp that is launched by releasing a brake, allowing the loaded craft to slide into the water without davits.

On-load releaseA hook mechanism that releases the lifeboat falls while the craft is waterborne and under load; the correct and safe method of releasing once afloat.

Sea anchorA drag device deployed from the bow of a survival craft to slow drift, keep the bow into the seas, and improve stability in rough weather.

SOLAS Chapter IIIThe section of the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea that sets mandatory requirements for life-saving appliances and arrangements, including survival craft equipment quantities.

Muster List (Station Bill)A posted ship's document assigning every crew member a specific duty station, survival craft assignment, and role in emergency situations such as abandon ship.

Search and Rescue Transponder (SART)An electronic device carried in survival craft that responds to a ship's or aircraft's radar signal, creating a line of blips on the radar screen to aid rescuers in locating the craft.

Rescue boatA fast, maneuverable craft used to recover persons from the water and retrieve survival craft; distinct from lifeboats, which carry all crew during abandonment.

In class: Instructor-led walkthrough of a davit-launched lifeboat or life raft trainer (or high-fidelity mockup): students follow along with a SOLAS-required equipment list and physically locate each item — first-aid kit, water rations, food rations, fishing kit, bailer, sea anchor, line-throwing appliance, fire extinguisher, and signaling equipment — then cross-reference quantities against SOLAS Regulation III/13. · Demonstration of hydrostatic release mechanism and painter line on a life raft canister, followed by students practicing the wet-release sequence on a training canister in sequence pairs while the instructor narrates each step and its purpose; students then explain back one step each in a round-robin debrief. · Step-by-step tabletop simulation of a vessel abandon-ship sequence: students are assigned crew roles (coxswain, bowman, lookout, sick-bay tender), receive a scenario card with vessel type, weather, and time of day, and walk through mustering, donning appliances, launching the survival craft, clearing the vessel, and conducting a survivor headcount — recording each action on a procedure log sheet.
Materials: Davit-launched lifeboat or approved life raft trainer or high-fidelity mockup, SOLAS equipment list checklist, hydrostatic release training canister, procedure log sheets, scenario cards, personal lifejackets, projector for launch video reference (USCG-produced or manufacturer training video).
Check: Equipment identification check: student points to and names 90% of SOLAS-required items on the craft without prompting — pass. Procedure log sheet reviewed by instructor for correct sequence and no critical steps omitted — pass. Students who miss more than one critical step repeat the tabletop with a new scenario card.

Practice check8

Answer each question, then check it. Nothing is recorded; this is your own practice.