Rescue and Fast Rescue Boat – Launch and Operations

The maximum length of a rescue boat is 8.5 metres. A rescue boat can be a boat that is already on board the ship. Life-Saving Appliances kept on board rescue boats include thermal protective aids for any casualties, portable fire-extinguishing equipment, first-aid kits and buoyant lines. The LSA that should be checked annually include davits, release mechanisms and clutches.

A rescue boat might be launched to pick up survivors from an abandonment and transfer them to a suitable survival craft; to aid the search, rescue and recovery of a casualty falling overboard from a ship or an aircraft; or to transfer a sick person from ship to ship for better medical facilities.

As per SOLAS, a rescue boat must be launched and manoeuvred in the water every three months. During an emergency the efficient recovery or assistance of a casualty is important, but the safety of the ship's crew is equally vital, especially during launch and recovery — which is why regular drills are performed to increase the competency of the rescue boat crew. The Master is in overall command of a rescue operation.

Secondary means of communication during a rescue are buoyant smoke and flares. During inclement weather there is a higher risk when reconnecting a rescue boat to the ship, because the fall blocks are swinging around at the head height of the crew and because the movement of the ship and boat can affect the crew's ability to recover the boat.

To work on a fast rescue boat, the required training is STCW Proficiency in Fast Rescue Boats and STCW Proficiency in Survival Craft and Rescue Boats.

• Rescue boat ≤ 8.5 m; it can be a boat already on board.
• On board: thermal protective aids, portable fire extinguishers, first-aid kits, buoyant lines.
• Annual LSA checks: davits, release mechanisms, clutches.
• Launch reasons: pick up survivors, search/rescue/recover a person overboard, transfer a sick person.
• SOLAS: launch and manoeuvre every three months. Master has overall command.
• Secondary communication: buoyant smoke, flares.
• Reconnecting in bad weather: swinging fall blocks at head height, ship/boat movement.
• Training: STCW Proficiency in Fast Rescue Boats; STCW PSCRB.

1. SOLAS Chapter III and the LSA Code — rescue boat construction, equipment, launch and davit requirements.
2. STCW Convention and Code — proficiency in survival craft and rescue boats, and in fast rescue boats.