Things to check after joining a ship
In this post we will discuss about the things to check after joining a ship for the first time and what to look out for.
When a seafarer joins a ship for the first time, he is not well aware of the things he needs to do.
This article will work as a guide for those seafarers who will be joining their first ship very shortly.
Things to do after joining ship :
(1) After getting onboard, the seafarer should first report in the Ship’s office.
(2) In the ship’s office, he should meet the Chief Officer who will allot him a cabin.
(3) The Chief Officer will ask the deck cadet to give the seafarer his personal protective equipments. The personal protective equipments are boiler suits, hand gloves, safety goggles, safety helmet and safety shoes.
(4) Then the seafarer should head towards his cabin and there he should keep all his luggage.
(5) Afterwards the seafarer should hand over the master’s copy of the documents to the master of the ship. This copy will be given to him by the shipping company before joining.
(6) The Master will take this copy and will ask for some more documents like passport, continuous discharge certificate (CDC) and for some more documents depending on the rank of the seafarer.
(7) After getting freshened up, the seafarer should wear his PPE and then should proceed towards his work place.
(8) There his will officer in charge will guide him.
(9) The seafarer should try to learn his job as early as possible and should stay observant about the surroundings.
(10) The seafarer should also follow all the timings onboard ship very diligently.
Safety related things to look for after joining a merchant navy vessel :
(1) The first and foremost thing the seafarer should do is to look out for Muster station.
(2) The muster station is a place where every crew member of the ship gathers after hearing any emergency alarm. The seafarer should also get familiar with the various alarms getting sounded onboard ship.
(3) The seafarer then should look for the duties allocated to him in various safety drills that get performed onboard ship.
(4) All these details about the muster station and emergency duties will be pasted in his cabin only.
(5) If the seafarer is from the engine department then he should search for the emergency escape route.
(6) He should also look for the nearest exit from each and every deck of the engine room.
(7) The seafarer should also check for the position of life jacket and immersion suit in his cabin.
(8) Then he should also notice the position of the nearest fire extinguisher around his cabin and near his work place.
(9) The seafarer should keep observing the things happening around him and should always keep learning new things. This will help him in becoming a good seaman.
(10) At the next possible opportunity, the third officer takes the new joiners on a familiarisation round of the ship.
(11) In this familiarisation round also the seafarer will get to learn different things.
(12) After leaving the port, the Master of the ship will also arrange a safety drill so that the new joiners get to know their respective duties in different emergency situations.
Hello. This is Alkesh Patil. I am a Marine Engineer with 10+ years of experience in Merchant Navy. In this blog, I will try to provide some basic information about merchant navy and life onboard ship.
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