Diver Rescue drills

[Capt Jim Wyatt]

I have been following a thread on accidents and incidents regarding a fatality here in the Florida Keys last week One thing that has come up is that there have been cases where people lost their tickets due to failure of practicing diver rescue drills and/or failure in documenting drills.

I am wondering what kind of drills other than fire and man overboard any of you conduct regarding diver rescues?

 

[nolatom]

My "licensed" experience is more with teaching sailing than on dive boats. There, I like to have the students do MOB drills not only because it's good safety practice and is on the checkoff list, but because it's good boathandling and sailhandling learning and practice, out where there's nothing solid to run into if you mess up, and "Oscar" is a lifejacket I threw overboard.

What the problem is with the Coast Guard investigators (I used to be one long ago) is when a diver on the surface near the boat is having trouble, they will see it as "passenger overboard in distress", and want to see the fastest measures taken, eg throw the life ring and launch a boat (if available) or rescue swimmer if the ring doesn't do the job. The "diver distress model" has tended to be the assist first from buddy or nearby diver model, or a "rescue diver" response. Typically (at least when at anchor) the boat can't engage prop(s) and move toward distressed diver (though maybe they could if no other divers are nearby, but usually they are). So the life ring takes on great importance to the Coast Guard, and anyone in the crew (licensed or not, but especially licensed ones) better use it early on, or have a good reason not to.

I don't know what such a drill would look like beyond a MOB drill where you can't use power and steering to get to the MOB. Which to me would mean ring first (heaving lines too if you can throw or trail them far enough, ditto lifejackets), then small boat if you got one, then swimmer/diver in the water, then maneuver boat if you safely can, and if none of this works real quick, a VHF call for assistance.

I too am interested in hearing about any such drill done on dive boats. "crew/passenger overboard" doesn't technically describe assistance and rescue of a diver who's been in the water for an hour and is only now in trouble, but the Coast Guard will probably want to see it handled like one. So will the family of the victim.

 

[Capt Jim Wyatt]

Read this....USCG assigned blame here to a Captain -- Craig Jenni was the defendants' lawyer.

 

[nolatom]

Thanks, that's the license revocation case I was alluding to. It's pretty self-explanatory, and I would venture a guess that had the life ring been thrown promptly and accurately by anyone, the charges may not have been brought. the need for separate "diver distress" drills might be combined with the MOB drills

The T-boat regs for MOB situations (185.512 CFR, section (a)(2), if followed, would probably suffice for diver distress also--throw life ring, post lookout, launch rescue boat, have crewmember put on life jacket, attach safety line to crew who is ready to jump in and assist if needed--would probably serve as diver-distress response, if we add fins and mask to the crew's outfit. I am not sure the judge's criticism of the captain's being in the galley wasn't situational, rather than doctrine. Usually it's the DM and deckhand who are lookouts when divers are down--or surface. If captains had to be constant lookouts also, other captain's responsibilites might be affected.

Logging drills is required, and would have helped here, as the admin. judge was looking for a better job of this than what was written. I'm thinking some (many?) of the boats out there have come up with "distressed diver" additions to their emergency instructions? I know, that was your original question.

 

[Capt Jim Wyatt]

@nolatom -- Thanks a lot...you confirmed what I was thinking....

 

[divezonescuba]

I might try doing this off the boat as part of one of the rescue course scenarios / DM course rescue #7 / our DM qualification for boat divemastering.

It would be a lot more realistic than doing it off of the shore in an inland lake, particularly if there is any current offshore.

 

[Tug]

How do you guys go about logging your drills? Do you log them in your vessel log or keep supplemental separate records of training and drills?

 

[Capt Jim Wyatt]

How do you guys go about logging your drills? Do you log them in your vessel log or keep supplemental separate records of training and drills?

We have a binder on the boat with engine checklists, safety equipment checklists and MOB/Fire drills log sheets.

We also have an AED and a DAN O2 kit on all five boats

 

[Wookie]

Sorry I'm late.

First off, Sector Key West realizes we are kind of a unique situation. We have a ton of dive boats, but we really don't have the surface support at the level they would like to see regarding fast rescue boats. There was talk about 4 years ago after I had my fatality on the Vandenberg about requiring every dive boat in the keys have a FRB. I responded with the fact that we did have and deploy a boat (the victim died at about 25 feet deep, there was no bringing him back if we'd been in the emergency room), and some of the dive boats in the keys are no larger than FRBs anyway. They were and are grumpy, but let that one go.

One problem in my opinion in the keys is the lack of professional training for crews. Our divemaster calls in drunk, so we pick up the homeless DM hanging out on the dock to be the deckhand for the day. No one gives the "qualified crew" part the emphasis it deserves, and don't get me started on those who get 6 months on the boat, and go take a week long class, and get someone to radio their sea time and they have the exact same license I do. If I were to solve this, I would start with 5 day basic training STCW for any sailor that steps on the boat. I even used to send my cooks to STCW. Just sending folks to training gives them an inquiring mind, because they are in class with real mariners who tell sea stories, and if nothing else, they run through the scenarios in their heads (What would I do in the event of a main space fire, flooding, MOB, etc). Every liveaboard I know does real drills with the passengers. Just like the Coast Guard requires all inspected vessels to do. Lifejacket/abandon ship within 24 hours of boarding, fire weekly, EPIRB test monthly, flooding weekly, etc. And logged in the ships log, which all certified vessels are required to maintain. I have yet to see a smooth log on any vessel in the keys aside from Spree and Kate.

And we have the attention of sector Key West. And area 1. And we need to get our house in order before they come give us some help we really wish we didn't have. After Becky had her incident, Sector came to me and asked if we wore lifejackets while we were deckhanding. I was able to duck and weave and say that our DMs were in their wetsuits which a 3 mil women's medium provides 15 lbs of lift, just like a work vest (or type V). They bought it. We then left work vests on the back deck. Our DMs never seem to get taught basic lifesaving, reach, throw, row, go. They all want to go first. The CG doesn't like that much.

If I were king of the world, we would have a meeting first with the operators of dive snorkel boats. And decide to have a meeting with all of the captains, and come up with a plan to make us all compliant with the inspected vessel regs, because after Becky's and Kyaa's and this latest incident, I think we are in danger of getting help we don't want.

 

[Capt Jim Wyatt]

Sector came to me and asked if we wore lifejackets while we were deckhanding. I was able to duck and weave and say that our DMs were in their wetsuits which a 3 mil women's medium provides 15 lbs of lift, just like a work vest (or type V). They bought it. We then left work vests on the back deck.

Yep---This issue has reared its ugly head a few times unofficially. Your reply to them regarding wetsuits was cool....I'll keep that in my toolbox.

One problem in my opinion in the keys is the lack of professional training for crews

We, as captains train our crews for MOB, Fire, surface rescue & document the training. Does USCG not interpret this as professional training? If not, where is it available?

If I were king of the world, we would have a meeting first with the operators of dive snorkel boats. And decide to have a meeting with all of the captains, and come up with a plan to make us all compliant with the inspected vessel regs

Its a good idea but...