What Happens If You Fall Overboard From A Cruise Ship?

You’ve paid thousands of dollars in fees, you’ve taken a small vacation with one of the world’s most luxurious cruise ships, or you’ve wanted to get from point A to point B by ferry. But the accident is suddenly in the middle of your journey. you fell into the sea.

This scenario should not sound impossible at all. Despite the many safety measures taken today, an average of 25 people a year fall into the sea from cruise ships. Alright, What happens after you fall into the sea?

Let’s first look at your chances of surviving falling from the ship:

• The world’s largest cruise ship Wonder of the Seas.

The largest cruise ships with the highest deck you can drop off from the sea surface Over 70 meters high can have. Of course, this height includes the ship’s chimneys, so you will not be at the top. But if you fall from this height, your chances of survival will be very low due to the speed with which you hit the water.

The floors of the ship you are in have a survivable height for a human. However, you may pass out even if you do not lose your life, You may lose consciousness. If you fall from a lower spot, it will probably hurt.

• NOTE: 75% of fall cases to date have resulted in death.

The dangers you may encounter when you fall into the sea:

• Being caught in the huge current created by the propellers of the ship you fell into.
• Hypothermia due to extremely cold water.
• Huge waves or scorching sun, depending on the weather.
• Risk of shark attack depending on where you landed.

Another bitter truth: No one may even know that you have fallen!

If you have fallen from a ship, you must first have noticed that you have fallen from the ship. Especially if there is no one to see you fall on large ships, under normal circumstances You don’t go unnoticed unless you’re counted. These counts usually take place in ports.

In order to prevent this situation, some sensors are placed on the hull, especially on cruise ships. Still, the sensors detect that you’re overboard. It does not happen with a 100% success rate.

You are lucky and it was noticed that you fell from the ship, you are alive and watching the ship go: what happens next?

When the information that you have crashed reaches the ship’s deck, the team instantly activated will begin to implement three steps:

The location at the time of your fall is recorded:

This information will play a critical role in the rescue maneuver. If your fall is noticed later, all camera records on the ship are examined, the hour and minute you fell are noted, and the location at this time and location is determined from the ship records.

Glass bagels are thrown into the sea:

lifeline, also to equipment that emits orange smoke also has. But the smoke extraction time is at least 15 minutes.

The ship’s whistle is blown, the pennant is hoisted:

By blowing the ship’s whistle for three long times, it is ensured that the surrounding ships are also aware of the situation. It also has yellow and red colors. ‘Fasting (Oscar)’ flag is drawn.

After these stages, the ship in the direction of falling (from right to right, left to left) is put into a sharp turn. The purpose of this maneuver is to ensure that the person is not affected by the wave coming from behind the ship.

• A little note: Even if a person is noticed a minute after falling into the sea, they have already been exposed to these waves. Of course, precaution is precaution.

However, the maneuver is also part of the emergency manoeuvre. Boat, ‘Williamson’s returnIt starts the maneuver called ‘ and follows a route as above.

The aim is to return to the marked location as soon as possible.

Search and rescue efforts continue until you are found:

The ship you crashed, other ships in the vicinity and security teams will start search and rescue efforts with various techniques to find you.

On the other hand, these studies usually the shipwreck does not play an active role. The ship is used as an information source by the authorities receiving the emergency information, and continues on its course.

It is predicted that you may even be dead:

International Aviation and Maritime Search and Rescue Manual, it even includes an individual’s estimated survival time based on sea temperature. Heat;

• If it is below 2 degrees, maximum 45 minutes,
• If it is 2-4 degrees, maximum 90 minutes,
• If it is 4-10 degrees, maximum 3 hours,
• If it is 10-15 degrees, maximum 6 hours,
• If it is 15-20 degrees, a maximum of 12 hours is given and
• If it is higher than 20 degrees, no time is given.

What to do when you see someone falling from the ship:

-A rescue drill with dummies.

• Life buoy to the sea or whatever you can find and anything one can hold onto throw it away.
• Be careful to keep your eyes on the person (Even if the ship is moving at a very slow speed of 10 knots, the distance between you and the person 1 kilometer in just 5 minutes will.)
• “Someone fell into the sea!” or if you are on an international ship “Man overboard!shout ‘.
• Try any means of contacting the authorities on board, make use of the alarms if necessary.