CARDIFF

07125-Evaluation of crew performance (fire drills)-A ship when in the port of another Contracting Government is subject to control by officers duly authorized by such Government concerning operational requirements in respect of the safety of ships, when there are clear grounds for believing that the master or crew are not familiar with essential shipboard procedures relating to the safety of ships. Vessel crew failed to perform a satisfactory fire drill after given multiple attempts. On the second attempt at the drill, the crew was not familiar with donning the fireman’s outfit and its associated equipment. Fire team failed to use the rigid helmet and the aluminized fire resistant hood—during the drill, fire team utilized the ‘training’ helmet which left the neck and portion of the face exposed, which did not offer similar protection. Vessel was fitted with radios specifically for the fire team, but the fire team failed to bring the radios. Vessel was equipped with lifelines but they were not utilized. Communication of the fire team and team leader was limited to face to face interaction. One of the fire team members had his SCBA face mask worn improperly-- face mask was overly fastened and worn to high on the face such that the nose cap was partially blocking his vision. One of the fire team members was not aware he had a flashlight attached to his fireman’s outfit and was not able to provide to PSCO when requested—he only recognized his flashlight after removing the his jacket. The crew had previously only conducted drills using the firefighting ‘training’ outfits which are not identical to the actual firefighting outfits. The actual firefighting outfits were observed to be in a new condition and found in original packaging. During the drills, the crew confused equipment from the training and actual ensembles. The actual fireman’s outfits were not donned as designed, entirely or properly. In the event of a real fire, PSCO believes the crew would not be prepared to attack or mitigate a fire in a timely manner due to their unfamiliarity with the actual fireman’s outfit and equipment. 74SOLAS(14) XI-1/4.1