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Life-saving Appliances
Life-saving appliances are those appliances that protect human life at sea. The devices are documented as part of the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea, or SOLAS Convention. Types In the SOLAS Convention and other maritime related standards, the safety of human life is paramount. Ships and other watercraft carry life saving appliances including lifeboats, lifebuoys, life-jackets, life raft and many others. Passengers and crew are informed of their availability in case of emergency. Life-saving appliances are mandatory as per chapter 3 of the SOLAS Convention. The International Life-Saving Appliance (LSA) Code gives specific technical requirements for the manufacture, maintenance and record keeping of life-saving appliances. The number and type of life-saving appliances differ from vessel to vessel, and the code gives a minimum requirement to comply in order to make a ship seaworthy. Life-saving appliances include *Lifebuoys and life-jackets * Immersio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
SOLAS Convention
The International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) is an international maritime treaty that sets minimum safety standards in the construction, equipment and operation of merchant ships. The International Maritime Organization convention requires signatory flag states to ensure that ships flagged by them comply with at least these standards. The current version of SOLAS is the 1974 version, known as SOLAS 1974, which came into force on 25 May 1980. , SOLAS 1974 has 167 contracting states, which flag about 99% of merchant ships around the world in terms of gross tonnage. SOLAS in its successive forms is generally regarded as the most important of all international treaties concerning the safety of merchant ships. Signatories The non-parties to SOLAS 1974 include numerous landlocked countries (for obvious reasons), as well as El Salvador, Micronesia and East Timor. Some others including Bolivia, Lebanon and Sri Lanka, all considered flag of convenience states, a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lifebuoy
A lifebuoy is a life-saving buoy designed to be thrown to a person in water, to provide buoyancy and prevent drowning. Some modern lifebuoys are fitted with one or more seawater-activated lights, to aid rescue at night. Other names Other names for "lifebuoy" include safety wheel, lifebelt, water wheely, ring buoy, lifering, lifesaver, life donut, life preserver, Perry buoy, or Kisbee ring. The "Kisbee ring", sometimes "kisby ring" or "kisbie ring", is thought to be named after inventor Thomas Kisbee (1792–1877), a British naval officer. Description The lifebuoy is usually ring- or horseshoe-shaped personal flotation device with a connecting line allowing the casualty to be pulled to the rescuer in a boat. They are carried by ships and are also located beside bodies of water that have the depth or potential to drown someone. They are often subjected to vandalism which, since the unavailability of lifebuoys could lead to death, may be punished by fines (up to £5,000 in t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Personal Flotation Device
A personal flotation device (PFD; also referred to as a life jacket, life preserver, life belt, Mae West, life vest, life saver, cork jacket, buoyancy aid or flotation suit) is a flotation device in the form of a vest or suite that is worn by a user to prevent the wearer from drowning in a body of water. The device will keep the wearer afloat with their head and mouth above the surface – they do not have to swim or tread water in order to stay afloat and can even be unconscious. PFDs are commonly worn on small watercraft or other locations where accidental entry into deep water may occur in order to provide immediate support for the wearer should they end up in the water. PFDs are also kept on large vessels for passengers to wear in an emergency in order to help them stay afloat should they be forced to enter the water or accidentally fall overboard during an evacuation. PFD's are commonly worn for swimming and/or other activities that require an individual to be in the water ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lifeboat (rescue)
A rescue lifeboat is a boat rescue craft which is used to attend a vessel in distress, or its survivors, to rescue crew and passengers. It can be hand pulled, sail powered or powered by an engine. Lifeboats may be rigid, inflatable or rigid-inflatable combination-hulled vessels. Overview There are generally three types of boat, in-land (used on lakes and rivers), in-shore (used closer to shore) and off-shore (into deeper waters and further out to sea). A rescue lifeboat is a boat designed with specialised features for searching for, rescuing and saving the lives of people in peril at sea or in estuaries. In the United Kingdom and Ireland rescue lifeboats are typically vessels crewed by volunteers, intended for quick dispatch, launch and transit to reach a ship or individuals in trouble at sea. Off-shore boats are referred to as 'All-weather' and generally have a range of 150–250 nautical miles. Characteristics such as capability to withstand heavy weather, fuel capacity, navi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Flare
A flare, also sometimes called a fusée, fusee, or bengala in some Latin-speaking countries, is a type of pyrotechnic that produces a bright light or intense heat without an explosion. Flares are used for distress signaling, illumination, or defensive countermeasures in civilian and military applications. Flares may be ground pyrotechnics, projectile pyrotechnics, or parachute-suspended to provide maximum illumination time over a large area. Projectile pyrotechnics may be dropped from aircraft, fired from rocket or artillery, or deployed by flare guns or handheld percussive tubes. History The earliest recorded use of gunpowder for signaling purposes was the 'signal bomb' used by the Chinese Song Dynasty (960–1279) as the Mongol-led Yuan Dynasty (1271–1368) besieged Yangzhou in 1276. These soft-shelled bombs, timed to explode in midair, were used to send messages to a detachment of troops far in the distance. Another mention of the signal bomb appears in a text dating ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Smoke Signal
The smoke signal is one of the oldest forms of long-distance communication. It is a form of visual communication used over a long distance. In general smoke signals are used to transmit news, signal danger, or to gather people to a common area. History and usage In ancient China, soldiers along the Great Wall sent smoke signals on its beacon towers to warn one another of enemy invasion. The colour of the smoke communicated the size of the invading party. By placing the beacon towers at regular intervals, and situating a soldier in each tower, messages could be transmitted over the entire 7,300 kilometres of the Wall. Smoke signals also warned the inner castles of the invasion, allowing them to coordinate a defense and garrison supporting troops. In ancient Sri Lanka, soldiers stationed on the mountain peaks would alert each other of impending enemy attack (from English people, Dutch people or Portuguese people) by signaling from peak to peak. In this way, they were able to tra ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Public Address System
A public address system (or PA system) is an electronic system comprising microphones, amplifiers, loudspeakers, and related equipment. It increases the apparent volume (loudness) of a human voice, musical instrument, or other acoustic sound source or recorded sound or music. PA systems are used in any public venue that requires that an announcer, performer, etc. be sufficiently audible at a distance or over a large area. Typical applications include sports stadiums, public transportation vehicles and facilities, and live or recorded music venues and events. A PA system may include multiple microphones or other sound sources, a mixing console to combine and modify multiple sources, and multiple amplifiers and loudspeakers for louder volume or wider distribution. Simple PA systems are often used in small venues such as school auditoriums, churches, and small bars. PA systems with many speakers are widely used to make announcements in public, institutional and commercial buildings ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Maritime Safety
Maritime safety as part of and overlapping with water safety is concerned with the protection of life (search and rescue) and property through regulation, management and technology development of all forms of waterborne transportation. The executive institutions are the national and transnational maritime administrations. Maritime accidents, while characterized by a level of safety of the order of 10−5 (1 serious accident per 100,000 movements), which is only slightly inferior to that of the field of air transportation (10−6) are a significant source of risk for insurance companies, transport companies and property owners. Beyond that, of course, ship owners and maritime institutions have to ensure that casualties at sea (mostly by drowning) are kept to the possible minimum. Organizational and human factors are critical antecedents to accidents such as MV Prestige, Herald of Free Enterprise, MS Sleipner, MS Estonia, Bow Mariner and Hoegh Osaka as well as the infamous Tita ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
