Fire on a cruise ship leads to an evacuation!

[ontheweb]

Passengers, crew evacuated from cruise ship after fire (msn.com)

 

Very small ship. I wonder how well something like this would have worked on some of the extremely huge ships now sailing, especially with the new e-muster drills now being used.

[Heidi13]

2 hours ago, ontheweb said:

Passengers, crew evacuated from cruise ship after fire (msn.com)

 

Very small ship. I wonder how well something like this would have worked on some of the extremely huge ships now sailing, especially with the new e-muster drills now being used.

 

Since the mega ships are all newer, most if not all will have Hi-fog systems installed in the E/R. These known down a fire quickly, often in a few seconds. Therefore, on newer tonnage it may not even have resulted in the General Emergency Signal.

[chengkp75]

I agree with Andy that this might not have resulted in a muster, let alone an evacuation on a newer ship.

 

Until the advent of the e-muster, I would have had few concerns about this happening on a larger ship, but I have well documented my concerns for the training of both crew and passengers for an actual emergency muster.

[jsn55]

When I comply with an e-muster call, I think about the vast majority of  pax who will instantly panic in an emergency.  With the old-style real musters, pax gained some cognizance of what to do in an emergency; awareness of their muster stations if nothing else.  An e-muster is about as useful as looking at your phone for ten seconds, then moving on.  

[Hlitner]

I would likely be in a small minority of cruisers who thinks that the current emergency/muster drills are sadly lacking on many levels.  It seems like passenger comfort and convenience now take precedence over really effective safety drills.  At some point in the future, there will be a major problem on a larger cruise ship, and folks are going to either die or be seriously injured because everyone the safety procedures are going to fail.  As one who used to work in the Emergency Medical and Fire world (I was a volunteer firefighter and a Certified Paramedic) I know how important practice is as preparation for a real emergency.  These days folks are supposed to watch the video in their cabins, but we suspect that many (if not most) simply let it play on their cabin TV while they go about doing other things (and may not even be in their cabin).  On most ships they must than report to some designated area where they are simply "checked-in" and than go off on their merry way.

 

Those procedures are not going to prove adequate in the case of a real emergency.  We remember the days when passengers had to muster at their lifeboat stations, watch real life demos of how to use a lifevest, etc.  While those procedures were far from perfect, they did a good job emphasizing the seriousness of the drill and give passengers (and crew) a good idea of where to go and what to do.  When serious emergencies do happen (like the Costa Concordia or the old MTS Oceanos), we know that the situation becomes very serious when the crew does not do as directed and many passengers panic.  By the way, the reason I cited those two specific ships was that in each case, the Master/Captain of the vessel performed very poorly which led to lots of panic (and loss of life).  

 

Hank

[ontheweb]

16 minutes ago, Hlitner said:

I would likely be in a small minority of cruisers who thinks that the current emergency/muster drills are sadly lacking on many levels.  It seems like passenger comfort and convenience now take precedence over really effective safety drills.  At some point in the future, there will be a major problem on a larger cruise ship, and folks are going to either die or be seriously injured because everyone the safety procedures are going to fail.  As one who used to work in the Emergency Medical and Fire world (I was a volunteer firefighter and a Certified Paramedic) I know how important practice is as preparation for a real emergency.  These days folks are supposed to watch the video in their cabins, but we suspect that many (if not most) simply let it play on their cabin TV while they go about doing other things (and may not even be in their cabin).  On most ships they must than report to some designated area where they are simply "checked-in" and than go off on their merry way.

 

Those procedures are not going to prove adequate in the case of a real emergency.  We remember the days when passengers had to muster at their lifeboat stations, watch real life demos of how to use a lifevest, etc.  While those procedures were far from perfect, they did a good job emphasizing the seriousness of the drill and give passengers (and crew) a good idea of where to go and what to do.  When serious emergencies do happen (like the Costa Concordia or the old MTS Oceanos), we know that the situation becomes very serious when the crew does not do as directed and many passengers panic.  By the way, the reason I cited those two specific ships was that in each case, the Master/Captain of the vessel performed very poorly which led to lots of panic (and loss of life).  

 

Hank

Alas, a great majority love the new e-muster because no emergency will ever happen, or at least never happen when they are onboard. And they are most often right that there will be no emergency on their cruise, but when that real emergency inevitably happens, it is not going to be pretty.

[MamaFej]

I agree that the new system is lacking. We watched the video very attentively on each line the first cruise back, and when we hadn't cruised that line for over six months. on B2Bs (and when we had 5 cruises embarking Feb. 28-April 19) we only watched attentively the first cruise. We always go straight to our muster station upon embarkation. 

 

I was always frustrated by the inattentive, rude people at in-person muster drills, especially the clearly inebriated folks who insisted on talking loudly, preventing those who wanted to pay attention from hearing.

 

However, while cruising with friends in April of 2022, I was astonished when one of them said, "The video was way better than going in person. I actually learned something," then mentioned the 7 short 1 long horn blast. Mind you, she has been crusing for decades. She was unaware of 7 short 1 long, after several dozens of in-person drills. 

 

People are going to people. Some will be diligent about following what they've learned and following crew instructions. Some will panic. Many will fall somewhere in between.

 

I think that advances in technology (especially fire suppression technology) and the fact that something "really, really, really bad" hasn't happened in quite some time have led to  a combination of confidence and complacency that in-person musters are no longer necessary. 

 

I'm not sure what the perfect answer is. I am sure that Hubby and I will do everything we can to respond appropriately in the unlikely event we find ourselves in a real onboard emergency. 

 

[Aquahound]

9 hours ago, ontheweb said:

Passengers, crew evacuated from cruise ship after fire (msn.com)

 

Very small ship. I wonder how well something like this would have worked on some of the extremely huge ships now sailing, especially with the new e-muster drills now being used.

 

Part of the issue of the small ship and lack of redundant systems was the fire, while extinguished quickly, disabled the ship.  The ship was unable to anchor due to depth and ran the risk of drifting aground. She then had to be towed from Glacier Bay to Ketchikan.  For these reasons, it required a full transfer of persons to the Sapphire Princess. 

 

But on the topic of e-musters, I totally share the concern of the others.

[chengkp75]

1 hour ago, Aquahound said:

 

Part of the issue of the small ship and lack of redundant systems was the fire, while extinguished quickly, disabled the ship.  The ship was unable to anchor due to depth and ran the risk of drifting aground. She then had to be towed from Glacier Bay to Ketchikan.  For these reasons, it required a full transfer of persons to the Sapphire Princess. 

 

But on the topic of e-musters, I totally share the concern of the others.

Yeah, the small ships don't have the luxury of the multiple engine redundancy that the large ships have.  Ship built prior to Safe Return to Port rules, so almost invariably a single engine room.

 

Thanks for the inside info from the Coasties.

[SPacificbound]

I haven't been on a ship since 2017 but will be two months from now.

 

Why is there no actual muster drill now?

[TheOldBear]

8 minutes ago, SPacificbound said:

I haven't been on a ship since 2017 but will be two months from now.

 

Why is there no actual muster drill now?

Avoiding crowds - mostly introduced during the post lockdown cruising restart.

[SPacificbound]

11 minutes ago, TheOldBear said:

Avoiding crowds - mostly introduced during the post lockdown cruising restart.

Thank you.

 

I do think it's time to go back to muster drills now.

[sfaaa]

When real emergency occurs and panic sets in, I wonder how many passengers would actually remember what was said at muster and where they are supposed to go. 

[donaldsc]

My Antarctic sailing is more recent than the original Antarctica sails but I have been told that in the olden times doing Antarctica had to actual get into their life boats during muster drill.  Can you imagine having to do that now.  I agree with others that in the if a real emergency occurred people would be running around like headless chickens.  I would not wish bad luck on anyone but perhaps a real emergency on a ship might be useful to bring us back to reality.

 

DON

[MBP&O2/O]

I would suspect that most 'ex job' on this forum disprove of the current MO. and would prefer to go back to a  'hands on' approach. Especially those people who have been there, seen it and then 'worn the tee shirt' .

Having said that there are some people who know best and are no afraid to say so 😏 and regretfully the crew are not allowed to advise them accordingly.

[chengkp75]

8 hours ago, sfaaa said:

When real emergency occurs and panic sets in, I wonder how many passengers would actually remember what was said at muster and where they are supposed to go. 

There was an actual muster on an RCI ship a few months back, man overboard if I remember right, and a poster who was there said it was chaos, with many passengers not remembering what deck their station was on.  The excuse given was that "it was 7 days ago that we checked in at our station, so it's understandable that they would forget".

[sparks1093]

6 minutes ago, chengkp75 said:

There was an actual muster on an RCI ship a few months back, man overboard if I remember right, and a poster who was there said it was chaos, with many passengers not remembering what deck their station was on.  The excuse given was that "it was 7 days ago that we checked in at our station, so it's understandable that they would forget".

Overlooking the fact that their muster station is printed right on their cabin key, of course (with signage everywhere showing where the muster stations are). 

 

I would also like to see the old way of mustering return. 

[MBP&O2/O]

Many moons ago our weekly drills were at the same time and same day every week. Galley staff were excused as they were preparing lunch.  This was standard practice with 'traditional' Masters who were brainwashed into this scenario.

On one ship I sailed with a Master with a more modern outlook. He came onto the bridge one morning, shortly after 0800hrs, made small talk about weather and the lack of nearby shipping and then activated the general alarm 🙂

Mayhem!

Several people came to the bridge to see what was happening. One complained it woke him up. Very few people did what they should have.

 

The Old Man made it perfectly clear that emergencies could happen at any time of day and not specifically at 11:00am on a Saturday ... his parting shot was "get used to it" 🙂

 

Such conduct would not be acceptable nowadays as training is now taken more seriously and has improved a touch since then ... thank goodness.

 

[Z'Loth]

I think the challenge with Muster Drills is that they take place just prior to the ship sailing away. The problem is that it occurs after most passengers waiting an hour to check in and board the ship, and even some of the passengers decided to ignore the advice and wake up at o-gawd thirty to catch that early flight that was delayed. But, then, these are the passengers who also ignore the pre-flight safety briefing, so....

 

Also, it is the crew job to ensure safety so that "nothing" happens on board. Unless your name is Francesco Schettino....

[CPT Trips]

The safety video and then reporting to the muster station is much effective for me. I can pay attention to the instructions without having to contend with the noise and distractions of those ***** that started partying early as well as the crowded and uncomfortable conditions. Those presenting all the distractions clearly are getting nothing from the “mustard” drill and are interfering with those that want to take it seriously. 

[chengkp75]

34 minutes ago, CPT Trips said:

Those presenting all the distractions clearly are getting nothing from the “mustard” drill and are interfering with those that want to take it seriously. 

The only thing that a passenger should "get" from the muster drill, is to experience how to get to their muster station, from wherever they are onboard, while at the same time, everyone else onboard is trying to do the same.  This is a far different scenario than having a few people at a time, by themselves, or escorted by crew, reporting directly from the gangway.  It takes away any feeling of the "drill" being a simulation of a real muster, which is the objective of the drill.

 

The safety video has long been an acceptable substitution for a live presentation during the in-person musters, so that can remain, and has no bearing on the "training" aspect of the drill for the passengers.

[CPT Trips]

Guess I don’t like rowdy crowds. 🤷🏻‍♂️

[chengkp75]

26 minutes ago, CPT Trips said:

Guess I don’t like rowdy crowds. 🤷🏻‍♂️

Welcome to a real emergency.

[ontheweb]

14 hours ago, CPT Trips said:

Guess I don’t like rowdy crowds. 🤷🏻‍♂️

So, in a real emergency would you just stay in your cabin to avoid the crowd?

[CPT Trips]

7 minutes ago, ontheweb said:

So, in a real emergency would you just stay in your cabin to avoid the crowd?

AYATA? That’s why I get a balcony, just step off then the water level makes it convenient. 

 

14 hours ago, chengkp75 said:

Welcome to a real emergency.

Indeed! So I participate in the drill with eyes wide open and attention given where it’s needed. Then hope for, “no problem mon.”