are ship helipads only for emergencies?

Hi,

As a helicopter buff, I've been wondering if cruise ship helipads (as

seen on Celebrity Solstice) are only meant for emergencies or medevacs.

Or do some cruise lines use their helipads for helicopter tours or

excursions?

There is nothing like a chopper to discover some places.

Landing a helicopter is one of the most dangerous things one can do on a cruise ship.

A cruise ship captain will only allow it to happen in the most dire of medical emergencies.

Railings, cables, and antennas must be removed, and all ship's fire teams must be in place with fire hoses pressurized and high pressure foam extinguishers ready to go.

Extremely unpredictable updrafts, down drafts, and wind shears are swirling around the helipad. The deck can be moving up and down several meters every few seconds. The helicopter's blades are spinning just a few meters from the ship's superstructure. Static electricity from the helicopter discharges when the first contact is made. That discharge can kill a human.

The slightest error could result in catastrophic damage to the ship, and death/injury to crew and passengers.

No cruise line would take that chance - unless there was no other option.

While on a bridge tour, we were informed that

on Alaska cruises, the helipad is sometimes used

to permit passengers to view and photograph wildlife, etc.

Not much of an alternative use but still something..

-not Alaska!

.

Great shot in Barbados.

HAL ships don't have helipads.

In the Caribbean, on the Serenade and the Mariner, we were allowed on the helipad most of the time. As mentioned by Aplmac, it has a great view of nature and wildlife. If it was really windy or wavy, it was closed. Sometimes it is fun just trying to figure out how to get there!

As also mentioned above, there are a lot of cables, etc. that would have to be removed to land a helicopter. Worth it if needed for a medical emergency.

Sorry, OP.

This reminds me of a story I heard. It's not my story and it might be made up, but the person who tells it swears it it true.

On a cruise while at the captains cocktail party, the captain is answering questions and a woman asks him if the crew stays on the ship. The captain with a very straight face says, "no, they don't. Didn't you see that helicopter pad on the bow?"

The next day, there must be an emergency somewhere on the ship as it becomes obvious with all the activity, that a chopper is landing. Everyone is cramming around the rails, trying to get a look and see what's going on and this lady, wanting to impress everyone with her vast knowledge tells those around her, "don't get all concerned. it's not big deal...the crew is just changing shifts"

:D

CG

The helipad is for emergencies only. A helicopter is not kept on the ship. Helicopter tours - when offered - are land based at the ports of call. When in need, a Coast Guard helicopter is dispatched to meet the ship at sea to airlift the individual. Usually the ship will change course to meet the helicopter en route based on the proximity of the nearest land base. This occured on one of our cruises in the manner just described. Fortunately this is a rare occurance and most of the time - based on weather, time of day, and wind conditions - the helipad is open to the passengers as they are usualy located on the bow of the ship which is a popular area for pcitures, etc. There is also ample time to close this area in times of an emergency in preparation for an airlift.

I am not aware of any Princess ships any longer having helicopter pads but as pointed out with ships that do have them they are only used in the event of emergency. Last month we did have a medical emergency on the Coral off San Francisco and the patient was airlifted by Coast Guard helicopter from the Lido pool area. All lamp standards, deck furniture, trash cans and strings of lights were removed. The pools were evacuted as were cabins for several decks below the pools. Firefighting and other emergency people were standing by. This proceedure took about 45 mins. Once the helicopter arrived the airlift of the patient took about 30 mins and the helicopter hardly came over the ship...its just to dangerous.

Just FYI...All of RCI's Radiance, Voyager, and Freedom Class ships have bow helipads that you can walk to and view from. I get a kick out of watching people doing the Titanic thing with their arms spread out.

That small cruise ship has a helipad and carries a helicopter around to

flyfishing excursions in patagonia:

http://www.cruisetraveller.com.au/page.php?subNum=21

So if well organized it seems safe enough to operate an excursion

helicopter from a ship.

That small cruise ship has a helipad and carries a helicopter around to

flyfishing excursions in patagonia:

 

http://www.cruisetraveller.com.au/page.php?subNum=21

 

So if well organized it seems safe enough to operate an excursion

helicopter from a ship.

I guess with that example I stand corrected. However, most smaller vessels with limited guest capacity of that size that carry helicopters for use like that are actually private yachts certified for charter. I know of none of the major cruise lines that carry a helicopter on board for tour use. On those ships it is exclusively for emergency use as previously stated. It's not practical otherwise as it is too dangerous and too limited in passenger use.

In my 33 years in the CG, including 12 at sea, 9 in the Carib' (prime cruise ship country) and actually being involved in several cruise ship MEDIVACs; I'm not aware of a single case where a CG helo landed on a cruise ship.

While I would not go so far as to make it sound as scarey as a previous post it IS true that this is a dangerous task (landing CG helos on small CG ships is tuff). CG pilots practice the hoist technique often and landing on a strange ship seldom. They get antsy landing on USN aircraft carriers for pete sake! Actually we had book that listed ships approved for landing. Even landing our own helos required a periodic re-certification of procedures and equipment.

I am aware of a few cases where CG helos landed on the helo pad of 'super tankers' but it was always a very very extreme case. For CG and USN pilots the hoist to/fm a strange ship is simply considered a much much safer evolution then landing. Navy helos would routinely hoist to us rather than land just because they were unfamiliar {or uncertified} for our flight deck.

you might also notice that a military vessel other than an aircraft/helo carrier always has the 'flight deck' in the back..... For some reason pilots don't really seem to be enthused about trying to land on a small pad while a BIG WALL/front of the bridge is heading toward them..... Not the ones I've met anyway

Of course landing a non-government helo on a non government ship is TOTALLY different. If the Master is happy and the pilot is happy .... away you go!

Last point .... in a few places in the world ship's pilots - the guys required to drive into and out of ports - who usually arrive and leave a few miles off shore by small boat...are now being delivered and retreived by helo. They don't land...they hoist...in every case I'm aware of.

In the oil rigs in the Gulf of Mex helos routinely land on the platforms for crew swaps etc. But the rig isn't moving...that's the rub.....a MOVING ship AND a moving helo .....

What the fly boys try to avoid is the point where the helo is 'on deck' but the rotor is spinning. The airplane is very unstable at that point. Hovering 30 feet above the deck is a MUCH more comfortable position than being on deck with the rotor spinning. We tie the helo down firmly as soon as we can, with the blades still spinning. That takes a TON of practice. Only once a helo is FIRMLY tied down did we stop the blades... And BTW it becomes WICKED unstable as the blades wind down.......so if they can conduct business w/out stopping the blades EVEN better .....

Last May on the Millie, off the coast of Vancouver Island we had a very dramatic medi-evac. A canadian rescue copter came, after clearence by Canadian Air Force overflights, all folks off all decks, antennas down, and the decks secured. The copter lowered one by one, two medical personnel, and guerny basket. Unfortunately the evacuee couldn't use the guerney basket so it was taken back on the copter and a chair sling sent down, then the sling (with the evacuee in it) and one by one the medical personnel were lifted into the copter. It took a long time..at least 1.5 hours for the whole procedure. Being afraid of heights...that transfer, swaying in the air over the ship would give me a heart attack. Never heard how the person was. (and later in the cruise, during the night another similar evac). Looks really dangerous, and only done I'm sure when there's no other choice. ps...that's why you buy medical evacuation insurance as part of your travel insurance...a staff member told us at least $10k for the rescue transport. :eek:

we had a Med Evac on our november 08 Explorer of the Seas cruise....

at the Q&A later, all they would say is that the chopper doesn't land...it lowers a basket. the crew said that the spray from the chopper all over the ship would make it impossible to see....

we altered course a bit ( off the coast of NC) and a USCG plane and helicopter came out, flew around, picked up the patient and companion and off they went.

they basically shut down the front third of the ship, but it was neat to see! i believe it was appendicitis and that all turned out well for the person.....

What the fly boys try to avoid is the point where the helo is 'on deck' but the rotor is spinning. The airplane is very unstable at that point. Hovering 30 feet above the deck is a MUCH more comfortable position than being on deck with the rotor spinning. We tie the helo down firmly as soon as we can, with the blades still spinning. That takes a TON of practice. Only once a helo is FIRMLY tied down did we stop the blades... And BTW it becomes WICKED unstable as the blades wind down.......so if they can conduct business w/out stopping the blades EVEN better .....

ok...THAT sounds mad scary!:eek:

In my 33 years in the CG, including 12 at sea, 9 in the Carib' (prime cruise ship country) and actually being involved in several cruise ship MEDIVACs; I'm not aware of a single case where a CG helo landed on a cruise ship.

 

While I would not go so far as to make it sound as scarey as a previous post it IS true that this is a dangerous task (landing CG helos on small CG ships is tuff). CG pilots practice the hoist technique often and landing on a strange ship seldom. They get antsy landing on USN aircraft carriers for pete sake! Actually we had book that listed ships approved for landing. Even landing our own helos required a periodic re-certification of procedures and equipment.

 

I am aware of a few cases where CG helos landed on the helo pad of 'super tankers' but it was always a very very extreme case. For CG and USN pilots the hoist to/fm a strange ship is simply considered a much much safer evolution then landing. Navy helos would routinely hoist to us rather than land just because they were unfamiliar {or uncertified} for our flight deck.

 

you might also notice that a military vessel other than an aircraft/helo carrier always has the 'flight deck' in the back..... For some reason pilots don't really seem to be enthused about trying to land on a small pad while a BIG WALL/front of the bridge is heading toward them..... Not the ones I've met anyway

 

Of course landing a non-government helo on a non government ship is TOTALLY different. If the Master is happy and the pilot is happy .... away you go!

 

Last point .... in a few places in the world ship's pilots - the guys required to drive into and out of ports - who usually arrive and leave a few miles off shore by small boat...are now being delivered and retreived by helo. They don't land...they hoist...in every case I'm aware of.

 

In the oil rigs in the Gulf of Mex helos routinely land on the platforms for crew swaps etc. But the rig isn't moving...that's the rub.....a MOVING ship AND a moving helo .....

 

What the fly boys try to avoid is the point where the helo is 'on deck' but the rotor is spinning. The airplane is very unstable at that point. Hovering 30 feet above the deck is a MUCH more comfortable position than being on deck with the rotor spinning. We tie the helo down firmly as soon as we can, with the blades still spinning. That takes a TON of practice. Only once a helo is FIRMLY tied down did we stop the blades... And BTW it becomes WICKED unstable as the blades wind down.......so if they can conduct business w/out stopping the blades EVEN better .....

You are correct - in the case that I referenced (which was on Grandeur) the helicopter hoisted the passenger. In fact, Grandeur doesn't have a helipad and the rescue was over the pool deck. I simply assumed that having a helipad gave the ability to land v. hoist which maybe would now be the protocol. Thanks for the clarification.

In my 33 years in the CG, including 12 at sea, 9 in the Carib' (prime cruise ship country) and actually being involved in several cruise ship MEDIVACs; I'm not aware of a single case where a CG helo landed on a cruise ship.

BJ, it has happened more in recent years. Helipads on mass-market cruise ships is a rather new thing.

The hang-up isn't the CG pilots; it's the Flight Surgeon approval for medivac.

I am sure that all of these benches need to be removed before an helicopter lands for an emergency landing.

BJ, it has happened more in recent years. Helipads on mass-market cruise ships is a rather new thing.

 

The hang-up isn't the CG pilots; it's the Flight Surgeon approval for medivac.

I haven't been out that long

the Flight Sur' approves the medivac

But has NO input on how the evac is done beyond input of boat vs helo; and that decision is made based on asset availability and conditions by an OPERATIONAL commander. A flight Doc is NOT a pilot (in fact for USCG they are USPHS docs....) and he can NOT dictate how the medivac {by helo or otherwise} is accomplished. HE determines that an evacuation is warranted. THEN the controller calls the SAR Mission Coordinator and tells them there is a Medivac requirement. The FS might have said "time is imparative" suggesting a helo requirement .... or might not. The SMC then works with the OSC to determine HOW to effect the MEDIVAC.

Helo pads on cruise ships are NOT new .. I would go so far as to say that more recently they've stopped installing them because of non use ..... see the most recent and largest ships. No pad. Altho ships that are intended for occasional North Sea use seem to have them....

state your quals to disagree .... my experience on a CG flight deck equiped ship is since 2002 ..... and CG experience since 2007.

I launched for cruise ship medivacs and the decision was the pilots and mine as OSC On Scene Commander and acting air station commander. The FINAL decision is the pilots .... if they decide NOT to land the decision is NOT reversable.... I'm not aware of a single case of a CG helo landing on a cruise ship and I read the daily report every morning..... some things are hard to give up.

Got a documented case? Post it and I'll retract my statement.

The M/V Marco Polo had a heliport. I was told that they had in earlier years had a helicopter during the Antarctic season. They would fly ahead to check ice clearance.

Please understand that when I was with her in Antarctica, there was no helicopter. Perhaps one of the dedicated ship enthusiasts can verify this.

Fran

I worked on Norwegian Star out of Honolulu for many years.

On our trips to Fanning Island, we had frequent medical emergencies.

We were often out of range of the USCG Helicopters based on the Big Island.

We usually had to turn around and head back towards Hawaii.

The Helicopters would meet us about 200 miles South of the Island.

We had a large Helo landing area on our upper aft deck.

We averaged one landing/evac every 5 or 6 weeks.

The Helo was usually accompanied by a fixed wing CG aircraft.

Setting up the landing was very complex. The ship had to head into the wind, maintaining a certain heading and speed.

The fixed wing plane and the Helo circled us for quite some time until they were satisfied that all was as safe as possible.

Security moved everyone indoors.

I was on one of the fire teams that had to stand by outside with pressurized fire hoses and foam.

Before the CG helo landed, they first lowered a metal cable to discharge the static electricity.

Then the Helo landed and kept rotors spinning.

We then loaded one of our medical staff with the patient, and off they went.

The Helo pilot was always in a great hurry to take off and get away from the ship as quickly as possible.