CCTV on boats

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KenGordon

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In another thread the idea of using CCTV on boats for fire detection came up. There were a load of objections from practical issues of retrofitting wiring to privacy concerns.

So where is it common to have CCTV on boats? Several local (U.K.) boats use it, watching the dive deck, giving a better view of the lift, maybe off the stern to help avoid reversing over people. I think one has it watching the battery charging station.
 
At least one liveaboard in Indonesia had it watching out around the outer decks. I found this out because that is how the crowd was able to ascertain what became of a young woman. She'd jumped off a higher deck around 2 a.m.

Last I heard she'd not been found but at least her disappearance wasn't a complete mystery.
 
Im not convinced that adding more electrics & wiring will reduce the fire risk.

Smoke & Heat detectors will do the trick and they wont intrude on other people's privacy (in the bed rooms)
 
As @chillyinCanada mentioned the footage of the woman going overboard from that boat was critical in investigations.

Pindito has them and they're great - not intrusive at all. As a sailor I thought it was great to be able to see what was going on aft while I "borrowed" the helm and set a new course for Manado for a short while. I believe Edi's system is remote so he can view all cameras on the boat from his phone or anywhere in the world.

I'm a big advocate of cctv on all public areas of boats for purely safety reasons. Personal responsibility if someone wants to join the sea level club and doesn't notice cameras I guess.
 
Agree 1000% but please tell me these devices are already mandatory for berthing areas!

Rules and regulations will change drastically based on where you are at.

Generally speaking , i haven't seen them on many boats in the Sinai region. Some had them but they malfunctioned ages ago and never repaired.

Im sure some places have them but i doubt its extensive as it should be.
 
We specifically used them and had them approved in place of the roving watch when the navigation watch was set.

Regulations require a 24 hour mate/master, obviously to navigate. They may also require ( the wording isn’t quite as strong) a 24 hour deckhand for each deck accessible to passengers. Which would put the required number of deckhands at 4 for Spree or Conception.

We were surprised one inspection with a 4 deckhand rule. Remember, the cook is not a deckhand, the divemasters serve as deckhands. Officially, the cook is stewards department and doesn’t qualify as a deckhand.

Anyway, we were surprised. I offered up to the OCMI a closed circuit television system that monitored all 3 machinery spaces, the sundeck, the main deck, the salon area, and the foredeck. I also offered up a supervised fire detection system that alarmed at the operating station. The offer was accepted, and I was able to reduce my manning back to 2 deckhands. This does not mean reducing my crew. We sailed with 2 captains, 2 stewards, 2 deckhands, anphoto pro (with a captains license) and a tank filler (who was also a deckhand, but not manifested as such for insurance reasons).
 
you are saying of having individuals in each area, you have one person watching the monitors for all areas?

Interesting that the photo guy has a captains license. In some ways, I could think that the photo job is now an easy job, but it can be keyboard labor intensive and governed by the speed of the computer so maybe not so easy. Not captain tough but not so easy.
 

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