Carriage, Handling and Storage of Dangerous Goods along

98 RECOMMENDATIONS
ACTIONS
Technical and Management (continued)
A lifeboat (for barges exceeding 150t deadweight) should be onboard that can be launched by one
person. Additional floating devices should be available in case of passenger vessels or ferries.
The ship’s company should provide guidance on when and how to use lifejackets, as well on the
maintenance of the lifesaving appliances. The use of lifesaving appliances should be experienced
during regular drills and a manual on lifesaving equipment and its use should be onboard.
Institutional and Capacity Building
Authorities should establish the minimum technical requirements for inland waterway barges, this
includes also place, number and kind of life jackets, lifebuoys and lifeboats.
All crewmembers should have training on the presence and use of the lifesaving appliances onboard,
a first-aid training can also be part of this.
3.4.3 Emergency Response Management by Operator
RECOMMENDATION
Member Countries should ensure that vessel operators developed emergency response management
(ERM) systems onboard vessels.
CHALLENGE
The Safety Management System (SMS), as it exists for seagoing vessels, requires that the company
establishes procedures to identify, describe and respond to potential emergency shipboard
situations, or management of emergencies. Planning and preparation are essential if personnel are
to deal successfully with emergencies onboard tanker barges and cargo barges. The master and other
crew should consider what they would do in the event of various types of emergency, such as fire
or explosion in cargo tanks or pump room, fire in the engine room, fire in the accommodation, the
collapse of a person in a tank, the tanker breaking adrift from her berth, emergency release of a tanker
from her berth, oil spill (SOPEP: Shipboard Oil Pollution Emergency Plan), man overboard, abandon
ship, collision and grounding. They will not be able to foresee in detail what might occur in all such
emergencies, but good advance planning and training will result in quicker and better decisions and a
well organised reaction to the situation.
The following information should be readily available:
• Type of Cargo, Amount and Disposition;
• Location of Other Hazardous Substances;
• General Arrangement Plan;
• Stability Information; and
• Firefighting Equipment Plans.
Emergency preparedness means the use of a muster list, procedures for different kinds of
emergencies, and drills to have practice and knowledge of how to handle a certain emergency
when it occurs. A manual should be onboard for the ship’s crew containing the different emergency
procedures. Emergency preparedness also involves having the necessary firefighting equipment and
lifesaving appliances onboard as stated above, and crew trained in using this equipment.
In case of an oil spill, the Shipboard Oil Pollution Emergency Plan should be used. The purpose of the
plan is to provide guidance to the crew onboard the barge with respect to the steps to be taken when an