Regulation PM-12.0: Emergency arrangements on shore and ship
12.0 Emergency arrangements on shore and ship
12.1 General requirements
12.2 Injuries and ill health
12.3 Rescue
12.4 Property damage
12.5 Fire
12.6 Cargo spillage
12.7 Falls into water
12.8 Failure of services
12.9 Severe weather and other natural hazards
12.10 Major hazard installations
12.0 EmergencyArrangements on Shore and Ship
12.1 General requirements
- Many types of emergencies are possible in port areas, and in many countries the development, publication, exercise and regular review of emergency plans in ports is a legal requirement. General advice is given by the IMO.s Recommendations on the Safe Transport of Dangerous Goods and related Activities in Port Areas, the OECD.s Guidance concerning Chemical Safety in Port Areas and UNEP.s APELL Program (Awareness and Preparedness for Emergencies at Local Level) for port areas.
- Appropriate training or instruction of port workers on the action they should take in an emergency is essential.
- Each type of potential emergency that could occur in port areas should be considered when preparing appropriate emergency arrangements.
- Emergency arrangements and emergency plans should cover all foreseeable emergencies, from minor mishaps to major incidents. They should be capable of increasing response appropriately as an incident develops.
12.2 Injuries and ill health
- Arrangements for emergencies should include a suitable number of first-aid boxes and first-aid personnel (see section 9.3.4) and readily available means to take more serious cases to hospital. Some ports have ambulances staffed by paramedics (persons trained to assist medical professionals and give emergency medical treatment) based within the port area, while others rely on the local community ambulance service. In each case, it should be very clear how the service is contacted. The emergency telephone number should be easily remembered.
- First-aiders and ambulance personnel should be capable of safely reaching people who are injured, wherever they may be.
12.3 Rescue
- If workers become ill or are injured in places with difficult access and cannot get themselves back to where they can receive help, it may be necessary to rescue them. Such places may include .
a)holds of bulk carriers with access only available by hold ladder;
b)tops of lighting towers some 50 m high with access only by vertical ladders;
c)dry dock pumping pits 25 m deep with access only by staples on the pit walls;
d)cabs of container or dry bulk transporter cranes;
e)jibs of general cargo cranes;
f)outboard gangways of large container ships beyond the reach of the crane;
g)water in the port
- In each case, the situation should be assessed and the need for a possible rescue considered. Where necessary, the means of carrying out the rescue should be planned taking into account the need to prevent further injuries during rescue that could result from lack of oxygen, hazardous substances, electricity, or other hazards.
- The possible need for special equipment should be considered. Once rescuers reach a casualty, special lifting/lowering devices and harnesses are often needed for evacuation. Plans should assume that the casualty is unable to assist in any way. Any special equipment should be light and easily transported. It may have to be carried or lifted up and down vertical ladders, possibly following a complete loss of electrical power. The equipment should be capable of being erected or deployed with a minimum of delay. Exercises in the use of the equipment should be held at regular intervals.
12.4 Property damage
- In many cases of property damage, emergency action may be necessary to prevent potential injuries by making the site safe and recover equipment before repairs can be undertaken.
- The emergency arrangements should take account of the possible need for heavy lifting equipment and other specialized plant and persons with particular or specialist expertise.
12.5 Fire
- Emergency arrangements in the event of fire should be additional to the fire precautions and the various steps taken to prevent the outbreak of fire, such as fire protection of buildings, control of flammables and sources of ignition including smoking, and regular inspection of premises and operations.
- If a fire is discovered, the alarm should be raised immediately; apparently trivial fires frequently develop into serious fires.
- The emergency plan should set out the action to be taken when the alarm is raised. This should include alerting relevant emergency services. The action to be taken may well vary between different groups in different locations.
- When evacuation of an area is necessary, all workers should leave the area immediately by the nearest safe route and go to the appropriate fire assembly point. At the fire assembly point a check should be carried out to ensure that nobody is missing.
- Fire extinguishers should only be used by persons who have had appropriate training and experience in their use and when it is safe for them to do so. Persons using fire extinguishers should be aware of circumstances when the use of inappropriate extinguishers or equipment could be dangerous. This includes the use of water on electrical equipment and on materials that react with water.
- Appropriate emergency access for trained firefighters and their equipment and means of escape in case of fire should be kept clear at all times.
- The dangers to workers in event of fire demand urgent positive action following the discovery of a fire. Fire drills should be carried out at appropriate regular intervals.
- Arrangements in the event of fire should include arrangements relating to fires on ships and the action to be taken by ships in the event of fire on shore. These should cover fires on ships anywhere within the area of responsibility of the port authority.
- Fire precautions and emergency arrangements in the event of fire should be coordinated throughout the port area in consultation with the local fire authority. This maybe under the lead of the overall port or port authority in accordance with relevant local by-laws or other legal requirements. When appropriate, specific fire precaution measures should be devised in consultation with relevant bodies and specialists.
- Where attendance by different fire authorities may be necessary owing to the boundaries between their areas of responsibility, it is essential to ensure that no confusion can arise in the event of an incident on or near the boundary. This is particularly likely to occur when such boundaries run along rivers.
12.6 Cargo spillage
- Spillage of cargo containing dangerous goods may pose a threat to persons in the immediate area. Emergency arrangements should include safe means of identifying the cargo, isolating a leak and, if necessary, rendering it harmless.
- Hazardous spillages should only be dealt with by trained personnel. Such personnel may be from local emergency services, other specialists or port workers appropriately trained to deal with low-level emergencies. In every case the immediate action should be .
a)evacuation of the area;
b)safe removal of any casualties;
c)identification of the spillage.
- Arrangements to deal with cargo spillages should take into account the fact that it may be necessary to deal with cargo spillages or leakage that occur on board a ship during a voyage when the ship enters the port.
- Whenever possible, an isolated area should be set aside to which a leaking receptacle, container or vehicle can be taken. Such areas should be bunded with drain sumps connected to sealed systems or interceptors, as appropriate, to prevent
- contamination of the nearby waters.
- Any arrangement for the disposal of spillages should take into account potential environmental hazards. Sweeping or washing residues over the edge of the quay should be prohibited.
12.7 Falls into water
- By the nature of ports, falls into water are a commonplace hazard, and not allportworkers who may fall into water may be able to swim. Means by which such persons can rapidly escape from the water or be rescued should be provided.
- The survival of workers awaiting rescue from water will be aided by the wearing of appropriate buoyancy aids or life jackets and the availability of quayside ladders and life-saving equipment, including chains, handholds or other means to enable persons to support themselves in the water
- The emergency arrangements should take into account the fact that it will not be appropriate for many workers to wear buoyancy aids or life jackets at all times. It should be recognized that buoyancy aids only provide support to conscious wearers who are able to swim and help themselves, but life jackets will support their wearers, particularly those who are unable to swim, injured, exhausted or unconscious. Buoyancy aids may be suitable in sheltered water where there are other persons in the vicinity and rescue can be expected very quickly. Such garments are lightweight and offer very little hindrance to movements. Life jackets are the most effective means, and modern designs of the self inflating type allow them to be worn by workers undertaking manual tasks such as the mooring of ships. Life jackets should generally be worn when working afloat.
- Speed is essential for the rescue of persons in the water, as it can prevent a fall into the water from having tragic results. Means of rescuing should, therefore, be capable of being deployed very quickly. Delay may result in workers clinging to a fixed floating object after a simple fall being affected by fright, cold water, currents and tide and may soon make them lose consciousness and let go.
- Suitable rescue boats should be available as necessary, particularly where there is a fast-flowing current and the work is done on board barges or other small ships away from the quay. Rescue boats should be capable of being crewed by at least one trained first-aiderand mobilized rapidly. When the ship being worked is moored at a distance from the quay, the boat for rescue purposes may be the tender used to carry the workers with at least one suitable person responsible for manning the boat in the event of an alarm. The use of powerful rubber dinghies with very small height above the water makes it possible to grasp victims and haul them on board without difficulty, and as their hull is fairly flexible there is less likelihood of it injuring the casualty if he or she is struck by it. Rescue boats with higher freeboards should preferably have recovery devices and/or stern platforms and ladders.
- When victims have been taken out of the water, they should be warmed, their wet clothes should be taken off if possible and they should be wrapped in blankets or other suitable wrapping.
- If a victim no longer seems to be breathing, artificial respiration should be applied by the mouth-to-mouth method or, if that is not possible, by the Holger-Nielsen method. Resuscitation may be stimulated by using a bladder to administer oxygen or by giving injections, but only duly qualified persons with special training should give such treatment.
12.8 Failure of services
Consideration should be given to the effect of a failure of essential services, such as electricity or communications that could affect a limited area or the entire port premises. The failure may be part of a wider emergency, such as a severe storm, or an isolated event, such as the severing of cables during construction operations.
12.9 Severe weather and other natural hazards
- Ports may suffer from a variety of natural events. These include.
a)high winds and severe storms;
b)flooding from tides, river water, land water or a combination of both;
c)snow and ice;
d)temperature extremes;
e)earthquakes;
f)volcanic eruptions.
- Arrangements should be made with a reliable weather service to obtain warnings of adverse weather conditions in good time to enable appropriate action to be taken before the arrival of the adverse weather. The action may include;
a)stopping cargo handling;
b)moving and securing large cranes and other objects likely to be affected by the predicted conditions;
c)deploying sandbags and other flood-protection equipment;
d)evacuation.
- Snow and ice are likely to result in slippery surfaces for people and machines, anda film or covering of ice may develop on some cargoes, making them heavier, very slippery to walk on and difficult to handle. Particular care should be taken in such conditions, and suitable thermal clothing and good footwear with slip-resistant soles should be provided and worn. Other precautions may include the availability of stocks of rock salt to treat roads, pathways and cargo-handling areas, regular mechanical or manual sweeping of outside surfaces, and chains or studs on tyres.
- Some ports regularly operate in temperatures below -40°C and over +40°C.Exposure to extremely high or low temperature is likely to affect the ability of port workers to continue to work safely and without endangering their health. Appropriate precautions should be taken, particularly if such conditions are only experienced occasionally. Precautions may include limiting the time workers are outside in any one period, arranging a readily available supply of clean drinking water and suitable clothing.
- The benefits of pre-planning should be clear with foresight, rather than hindsight.
12.10 Major hazard installations
Some ports may be major hazard installations because of the storage or other activities of specified threshold quantities of hazardous substances in the port, or be adjacent to such an installation. In such cases the relevant national legal requirements and guidance given in the ILO code of practice The prevention of major industrial accidents should be followed.
Additionally,
Emergency contact list should be attached as an Appendix.
Revision: 00 October 2010 Page 1 of 6