Use of life rafts

After completing this module crewmembers will be much more knowledgeable about inflatable life rafts in general and will have developed the interest to find out more about the life rafts on their vessels.

The module covers inflatable life rafts in rigid containers launched from a cradle. The use of rigid life rafts and marine evacuation systems are not covered in this module.

This module aims to refresh the knowledge of those operating at STCW support level to regain the knowledge necessary to safely launch inflatable life rafts on their vessels and take the appropriate action for their immediate survival. Interest within the module is created by a series of interactive exercises which aims to motivate crewmembers in acquiring knowledge. Personal survival training is an important part of safety training required under STCW. All crewmembers must be able to prepare, launch and survive in life rafts when it is necessary to abandon ship.

Learning objectives:

• Recognize the importance of being able to launch a liferaft and survive in it
• Recognize common liferaft launching methods
• Identify ways to become familiar with liferaft arrangements on board
• List the actions to be taken after boarding a liferaft
• List actions taken to safely board a liferaft
• Recognize the essential parts of a liferaft
• Identify the steps to be taken to prepare for launching and surviving in a liferaft
• List essential survival equipment found in a liferaft