Fire on dive boat Conception in CA

[KevinNM]

Would the required watchmen be listen on the COI?

Previously he said they were. Which links up with the USCG line about reading your COI in the recent notice they published.

 

[StefinSB]

This is going to hurt. From 46 CFR 185.410

§ 185.410 Watchmen.
The owner, charterer, master, or managing operator of a vessel carrying overnight passengers shall have a suitable number of watchmen patrol throughout the vessel during the nighttime, whether or not the vessel is underway, to guard against, and give alarm in case of, a fire, man overboard, or other dangerous situation.

Hi Wookie, does it anywhere say how often these “patrols” should happen. Continuously, every 5 min, every 30 min, or?

 

[martincohn]

Moving on, it seems a few of our regulars had a word with the San Francisco Chronicle; what intrigues me is the incident mentioned at the very end: After fire, divers worry that burst of regulations will restrain free-spirited sport

We have never seen legislators have a knee jerk reaction and create crap laws all in the name of "reasonable" regulations to keep us all safe...no wait.

 

[Wookie]

Would the required watchmen be listen on the COI?

It's up to the OCMI (Officer in Charge of Marine Inspection, usually a LCDR) to make the call.

From 46 CFR 15.501

§ 15.501 Certificate of inspection.
(a) The certificate of inspection (COI) issued by an Officer in Charge, Marine Inspection (OCMI), to a vessel required to be inspected under 46 U.S.C. 3301 specifies the minimum complement of officers and crew necessary for the safe operation of the vessel.

(b) The manning requirements for a particular vessel are determined by the OCMI after consideration of the applicable laws, the regulations in this part, and all other factors involved, such as: emergency situations, size and type of vessel, installed equipment, proposed routes of operation including frequency of port calls, cargo carried, type of service in which employed, degree of automation, use of labor saving devices, and the organizational structure of the vessel.

 

[insomniac]

Hi Wookie, does it anywhere say how often these “patrols” should happen. Continuously, every 5 min, every 30 min, or?

I don't think anyone has mentioned this, but I think a relatively cheap / retrofit option to help prevent this type of thing in the future would be to setup a handful of wireless camera's in common areas so the watchman on duty could "watch" more areas while at primary station.

 

[Wookie]

I don't think anyone has mentioned this, but I think a relatively cheap / retrofit option to help prevent this type of thing in the future would be to setup a handful of wireless camera's in common areas so the watchman on duty could "watch" more areas while at primary station.

Wireless works OK on a fiberglass boat such as these, but not so well on steel or aluminum.

 

[insomniac]

Wireless works OK on a fiberglass boat such as these, but not so well on steel or aluminum.

Well, where plausible (wired or wireless) camera's in boats will will be more common in the future. Camera's are super cheap these days and they are everywhere and in everything. And if IR camera's get cheap enough, those can detect heat/fire better than a traditional smoke detectors. Based on how new cars are loaded with them for additional safety features / self driving capability; I can only assume the same will happen with new boats (and possibly old as well).

 

[KevinNM]

There are systems can use CCTVs detect and alarm on smoke. But given the a camera needs power and boats are very expensive I’d suggest doing supervised smoke alarms and a wired camera system. Though that’s something I’d talk to the relevant USCG officer about.

 

[IT.]

Why use a wireless camera? Easy enough to drill a few holes and run thin wires which is all the cameras need.

 

[cerich]

Why use a wireless camera? Easy enough to drill a few holes and run thin wires which is all the cameras need.

Drilling holes in ships are actually a very involved regulatory compliance and inspection process as well...