lifeboat is Small boat to maintain personnel when ship sinking . The ship is provided, mainly used in ship distress, for ship personnel aboard self rescue boat.
Lifeboats on board main rescue tools, it is ship crew used for self-help or rescue persons in distress at sea special rescue boat. In the boat seat board below with air box, in order to ensure that the boat is fully filled with water will not sink. The boat equipped with propulsion equipment , food, drinking water, emergency medicine, equipment, communication equipment and sail, oar, pole and so on, some also equipped with motor propulsion device. The length is not less than 5m. Using propeller, sail or propeller to promote. The International Convention for the safety of life at sea and the marine life-saving equipment specifications, the lifeboat equipped, strength, floating, steady and sedimentation have strict regulations. At the same time, also request passenger ships all lifeboats must be landed in water in 30 minutes under normal weather conditions. Ship even in adverse longitudinal tilt or any shipboard heeling 15 degrees can also landed safely; lifeboat arrange should not interfere with the operation of other life-saving equipment use, all boats in case of emergency immediately available. Lifeboat bow indicate the name, tail indicates the port of registry. The lifeboat usually set in the lifeboat deck hanging device, in order to facilitate personnel embarkation and quickly put to the surface.
Lifeboat has good buoyancy, stability and navigation performance, compared with other life-saving tools have greater safety, but its quality is better, occupy deck area and space is larger.
Select of lifeboat
1, cargo ship
When the ship sets two fully enclosed lifeboats, usually on starboard lifeboat as a rescue boat, Fully enclosed lifeboat selection side open door or stern open door based on the layout of vessel wall. If the ship by free fall lifeboat, can't be used as a rescue boat. Therefore, it is necessary to separately equipped with a rescue boat.
2, passenger ship
Full enclosed lifeboat is expensive, so the passenger ship generally used half enclosed lifeboat. But the passenger does not allow free fall lifeboat. The passenger ship half or fully enclosed lifeboats meet the requirements can be used as a rescue boat. There is at least one fast rescue boat in the rescue boat.
Storage and arrangement of lifeboat
Life raft should be kept as close to the living and serving place as possible. The landing station location lifeboat should as possible to make the lifeboat raft launching straight into water. If the landing site is located at bow of ship, it shall be set up in a sheltered place after the collision bulkhead. The ship landed lifeboat should be stored and are arranged to propellers as far away as possible. Where the vessel is 80m and above, but is less than 120m, the lifeboat shall be stored in a place not less than the length of lifeboat. Vessel length 120m and above of freighters and 80m and above passenger ship, the lifeboat should be stored to propeller not less than 1.5 times the length of lifeboat.
General requirements for lifeboat
1, Life boats shape and scale should make it have sufficient stability in waves, and has sufficient freeboard load full occupants and fittings. All boats should have rigid hull, can keep positive stability.
2, Lifeboats should have sufficient strength, full passenger although with crumbs articles can safely landed in water, When the ship in calm water to 5 kn speed forward, landing in the water and be towed.
3, the number of lifeboat can't be more than 150 people.
4, the layout of lifeboat, should enable all its crew to board boat quickly.
5, the lifeboat should have the inherent buoyancy material.
6, when 50% occupants to normal posture sitting in on one side of the center line of boat, the lifeboat freeboard shall be at least 1.5% length of lifeboat or 100 mm, whichever is the greater.
7, Lifeboat should be prolonged obviously handwriting indicate the scale and the crew fixed; lifeboats subordinate name of ship and ship's port of registry shall be to bold Roman letters to mark the bow boat on both sides; symbol of recognize the lifeboat subordinate ship and lifeboat number, can see it from the sky.
