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 by accident, you fell into the sea in the middle of your journey.
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. So, 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, which have the highest deck you can drop, can reach more than 70 meters above the sea surface. 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, even if you do not lose your life, you may pass out and 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 on large ships, if there is no one to see you fall, you will not be noticed unless counted under normal conditions. These counts usually take place in ports.
In order to prevent this situation, some sensors are placed on the hull, especially on cruise ships. However, it is not possible for the sensors to detect that you have fallen into the sea 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?
Once the information that you have crashed reaches the ship’s deck, the crew will begin to take three immediate 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:
The lifebuoy also has equipment that emits orange smoke. 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. In addition, the pennant ‘Oruç (Oscar)’ with yellow and red colors is drawn.
After these stages, the ship is put into a sharp turn in the direction of the fall (right to right, left to left). 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. The ship begins the maneuver called the ‘Williamson turn’ and follows a course 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, in these works, the ship that is dropped 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:
The International Aviation and Maritime Search and Rescue Manual even gives an estimate of a person’s 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.
- Throw a lifeline or anything you can find that the person can hold onto.
- Be careful not to miss the person (Even if the ship is moving at a very slow speed of 10 knots, the distance between you and the person will be 1 kilometer in just 5 minutes.)
- “Someone fell into the sea!” or “Man overboard!” shout out.
- Try any means of contacting the authorities on board, make use of the alarms if necessary.
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