cruise ships

[jimmys]

I dont blame the shipping companies for not allowing electric clothes irons in cabins. Far too dangerous.
Usually before a passenger ship leaves a Muster is held. Most ports do not allow lifeboat drills at the jetty. Boats have been dropped on the jetty.
In an abandonment you do not need to get a few boats away as at anchor which is no problem. You need to get them all away in 30 minutes.
I will run through a SOLAS approved launch for the 150 person boat. I cant give manufacturers names.
Approved signals bring the passengers and crew to muster stations, it is all on the muster instructions in the cabin where you go. You are held there.
On abandon ship the two crew. the boatman and bowman go to the launch davit and prepare the boat. pins etc are removed and the two embarkations doors opened. They enter the boat and at the con station there is two levers, one for the dead man brake and one for the hook release. They check the boat and lower using the dead man brake on the winch to the embarkation deck. It is bowsed in to position and held by the davit mechanism. They load 148 persons. They close the doors, open the hatches and their heads and upper body are outside the cover for viewing. They release the dead man brake and a centrifugal braking mechanism on the winch gives a controlled decent to the sea. Depending on the type of hook, on or off load she launches into the sea. The on load release you launch approx. one metre above the sea and drop and the off load you drop the boat completely into the sea.A diesel engine drives the boat.
This boat launches with a full complement all dry complete with life jackets.
The normal type of cannister life raft is launched into the sea in its cannister, you pull a painter and it inflates. For every ten of these at least three will need remedial work by a seaman before boarding. It is complex and over rated. When it is inflated you need a system to get the passengers into it. They cant jump into the water. If so a lot die. You do not launch it near the stern as the props and stern thrusters if turning can cause problems. There is so many problems in these systems.

regards
jimmy

[Graham Payne]

Hi All, just got back from a cruise on P&O's "Aurora". I wasn't a happy bunny when the muster station was in the foreward theatre spread out over 2 decks all enclosed (You would be trampled to death trying to get out) also it was 2 decks down from the lifeboats and yes the guides were shop assistants etc etc. On Security, I noticed in "Istanbul" they had a female security guard on the aft seaward side of the promenade deck standing by one of these "Sonic Cannons" it was about 20 inches square, supposedly she would "shoot" it if a boat came within 10 yards of the vessel. On a personel note I think a 10 ton shackel thrown would do a better job. But the wife had a great time dressing up for dinner, cost me a bundle for the dresses but as wifes say "IF I'M HAPPY YOUR HAPPY" unfortunatley i'm not one to argue I like my dinner without addatives.

[jimmys]

The launch system on a vessel such as the Aurora may be that the embarkation deck could be two decks below the boat deck. The davit could be launched and the boat bowse in two decks below.In a gravity davit it needs to be below the boat deck.
You need to think whether the crew you saw at that muster station could launch and load that boat with 148 persons in each boat.
I have only ever been paid for being on passenger ships so my comments are possibly unfair. I have never been a punter!!

regards
jimmy

[Terry Wilcox]

JUST A BIT OF USELESS INFORMATION. I REMEMBER READING SOMEWHERE THAT IF YOU SALVAGED ALL OF THE UNION CASTLE SHIPS CUTLERY AND CROCKERY THAT WAS THROWN OVERBOARD , YOU WOULD HAVE ENOUGH MONEY TO BUILD A NEW SHIP. TAKE CARE........TERRY

[Doc Vernon]

Terry
Too true mate,and if you could walk underwater you would never get lost from the UK to South Africa!
The path is lined with Silver! (I was one of the Guilty haha! )
Cripes!! I wish i could get some of that!
Brings the question to mind though Terry,wonder why someone never has tried to salvage all that Wealth!
Too deep i reckon!
Cheers

[happy daze john in oz]

Have to agree with Graham. P&O do all their life boat muster practice in the theatre on all their ships, where as Royal Caribbean nad others do it on the boat deck. But here is an interesting point I found out yesterday from my neighbor who has a niece who has just joined P&O as an entertainment officer. The lower level of crew, wingers, B.R.'s barmen, A.B's cooks etc are paid at the lower end of the pay scale. Between $50 and $150 per month depending on their skills and time with the company. Most of these tasks are underetaken by persons from the Philipines, etc. Senior crew, officers, Chef, Hotel Manager, are paid according to their country of origin in relationship to the country of registration of the ship. e.g. A britsh registered ship would pay a U.K. crew member more than say an Australian on the same ship, just as on a U.S. ship U.S. national will garner a higher rate than a U.K. citizen. By using this method the companies are able to keep the payroll low.

[Anthony Atkinson]

JIMMYS

AS AN INTERESTED PARTY, CAN YOU TELL ME WHY, THE C@G IS NOT PERMULATED (not a good sea word) at the loading top, surely 2000 passengers arsing around will change the centre of gravity and so would all the stores and sundries required to look after them. Is the C of G calculated before or after full load. I would suppose the tonnage of the vessel would be important to start with. And at the end of the day, manipulation of ballast would be the order of the the day. Have I answered my own question. OH MY! R796905

[Anthony Atkinson]

Castelmain

i have had a gander at that thing, and i do think it is not a ship as we think of ships. It is an ugly looking floating island, and i would hate to think how it can be evacuated in haste. Can you imagine how it would fare in rough weather. I suppose it has the best of the best with regards stabilizores, but, if they decide not to work, oh my, lots of puke. Some-one recently told me, a bigger one is on the stocks in a german yard. I am very happy i'm too old to be able to work on these buggers. R796905

[happy daze john in oz]

From conversations with officers on some of the modern cruise liners it is my undserstanding the CoG is calculated as at a fully laden ship minus crew and passengers, and is normaly at a low point not far above the waterline. All the heavy areas such as engines, fuel, water, stores etc are below the waterline. Passengers and crew have little effect as there is never a time when all are on one deck or in one section. But I agree that some of them are the fugliest things ever floated. I have seen container ships with more style. But the designers are given a brief to design a ship for specific circumstances and some will only sail in certain waters.

[jimmys]

The centre of gravity is calculated from lightship. That is what the movement of the masses is for. A number of tonnes over a distance( called a moment) give an angle of incline. It is from this the stability information is calculated. The addition of passengers can again be calculated. This is normal.
When again in a passenger ship you have something which is abnormal, such as all the passengers climbing to the top deck. The passenger ship does not allow for this. The ship has a stability problem.
You firefight on the upper decks using sprinklers it causes a stability problem.
The modern two compartment passenger ship if it is bilged has a problem, the compartments as you move to two compartment standards become short, especially midships and essential machinery can be compromised in minor flooding.
The use of ballast does not have the effect is used to as the ballast tanks are limited in length by the two compartment standard. The bulkheads go from the keel to the bulkhead deck. Difficult for the Mate on these ships, he is very limited in an emergency. The ships have a small draught in comparison to the size. Difficult for him to correct.

regards
jimmy