Emergency Organisation: Alarms, Musters and Drills

Three steps: initial action, FORDEC, team action

In short: Read first: nothing — this is the first topic of the Safety & Emergencies area. Next: Fire Triangle, Classes of Fire and Portable Extinguishers. Every emergency follows the same three steps: 1. initial action → 2. subsequent action (think with FORDEC, follow the ISM checklists) → 3. split the work between the muster teams.

• 1. Initial action comes from situational awareness: in the first seconds, know where you are and make the ship and people safe — position, depth, traffic, a safe place to be. Raise the alarm and call the Master.
• 2. Subsequent action: once the first moves are made, slow down and decide with FORDEC, then work through the ship’s emergency checklists from the Safety Management System (emergency preparedness is ISM Code 8).
• 3. Team action: the muster list gives each team its job, so people act at once without waiting for orders (next section).

FORDEC: a decision tool under pressure

• F — Facts: what is happening? Gather the information.
• O — Options: what could we do?
• R — Risks (and benefits) of each option.
• D — Decision: choose the best course of action.
• E — Execution: carry it out, give clear orders.
• C — Check: watch the result and adjust; go round again if needed.
• FORDEC comes from aviation, where pilots use it to reach clear, logical decisions in an emergency. It works the same way on the bridge.

On the bridge: fire alarm at 0300

• Initial action: check the detector panel, sound the general alarm, call the Master, note the time and position, make sure the ship is safe where she is (sea room, traffic, depth).
• Subsequent action: the Master takes the con and runs FORDEC — facts from the emergency team, options (fight the fire, close boundaries, call for help), risks, decision; the fire checklist is followed step by step.
• Team action: the bridge team keeps the ship safe and talks to the world; the emergency team goes to the fire; engine room gives pumps and power; interior/medical team counts people and prepares first aid.

Muster teams: who does what

In short: On the alarm the crew splits into four teams: Bridge, Deck / Emergency, Engine room / Back-up and Interior / Medical. Each person’s team and duty is written on the muster list.

• Bridge team: manoeuvre (helm, speed, position) · communications (internal, VHF, PA) · GMDSS (alerts and distress messages — see Distress Signals) · log and reporting · keeping the checklists in order, so no step is missed.
• Deck / Emergency team: the first-response party. It musters dressed and equipped, ready to commence (attack the fire, search, close openings) on the Master’s order.
• Engine room / Back-up team: machinery, fire pumps, power, ventilation and fuel shut-offs; backs up the emergency team and relieves it.
• Interior / Medical team: passenger and guest control, head count, first aid and casualty care — see Emergency Response, Radio Medical Advice and Medical Records.
• On a small yacht one person may cover several jobs; the idea stays the same: every job has a name next to it.

The general emergency alarm

In short: The general emergency alarm is seven or more short blasts followed by one long blast (• • • • • • • —) on the ship’s whistle or siren, plus a bell, klaxon or similar system where fitted (MGN 71 (M+F) Amd 1, 4.1). It calls everyone to muster. It is not the order to abandon ship.

• Sounded on the ship’s whistle or siren and, where fitted, an electrically operated bell or klaxon. In the UK the bell/klaxon is also required on certain ship classes of 45.7 m and over (SI 1999/2722, reg. 6(1)).
• It must be operable from the navigation bridge and (except the whistle) from other strategic points, and be audible throughout the accommodation and normal crew spaces (SI 1999/2722, reg. 6(2)).
• Once started it keeps sounding until switched off by hand; it may be interrupted briefly for a PA announcement (SI 1999/2722, reg. 6(3)).
• What it means: go to your muster station and start your muster-list duty. Passengers must be told it is a summons, not an abandon-ship order (MGN 71 (M+F) Amd 1, 5.6).
• Cargo ships may use the fire alarm to summon the crew, together with the whistle or siren signal (MGN 71 (M+F) Amd 1, 4.2). So some ships have no separate general alarm, but every ship has a fire alarm.
• For small craft, a common rule of thumb is that a general alarm is expected with more than 16 people on board or more than 750 kW of power — check the code that applies to your vessel.
• Abandon ship is ordered by the Master, by a signal or by word of mouth, at the Master’s discretion. The order must reach and be understood by everyone, including emergency parties far from the muster station (MGN 71 (M+F) Amd 1, 4.5).
• Every signal used must be described in the muster list and in the crew and passenger instructions (MGN 71 (M+F) Amd 1, 4.6).

Muster list and emergency instructions

In short: The muster list says who does what, where, on every alarm. Ships on international voyages must have one; the Master keeps it up to date and copies are posted in conspicuous places (MGN 71 (M+F) Amd 1, 2.1). Every cabin gets an emergency instruction card.

Muster list

• Who needs one: ships engaged on international voyages, and UK passenger ships of Classes II(A) and III (MGN 71 (M+F) Amd 1, 2.1).
• Who is responsible: the Master — prepares it, keeps it up to date and makes sure copies are exhibited (2.1).
• Approval: the MCA approves the format; MGN 71 says this for passenger ships of Classes I, II, II(A) and III (2.1).
• Language: MGN 71 asks for the language or languages of the people on board (2.1). In practice it is written in the ship’s working language, with English added.
• Contents:
  • the general emergency alarm and other signals, and the action crew and passengers take on each (2.3);
  • how the abandon-ship order is given;
  • each person’s emergency duty (ideally one duty each, 2.4) and named substitutes for key people (2.5);
  • survival craft assignments and the person in charge of each (2.6–2.7);
  • the officer responsible for maintaining the life-saving and fire-fighting appliances (2.9);
  • on passenger ships: duties for warning, assembling and controlling passengers and checking their lifejackets, and the assembly stations (2.3, 2.10).

Emergency instructions

• Crew: each crew member gets clear instructions in a language they understand — muster station, duties, allocated lifeboat or liferaft (MGN 71 (M+F) Amd 1, 3.1).
• Passengers and guests: an instruction card showing the general emergency alarm, displayed in every cabin, at muster stations and in other passenger spaces; illustrated where possible, and showing how to put on a lifejacket (3.2).

How often: the drill rules

In short: Every crew member takes part in at least one abandon-ship drill and one fire drill every month. If more than 25% of the crew missed last month’s drills on board, hold the drills within 24 h of leaving port (SOLAS III/19.3.2; MGN 71 (M+F) Amd 1, 5.2).

• Monthly: one abandon-ship + one fire drill per crew member (SOLAS III/19.3.2).
• 24 h / 25% rule: more than 25% of the crew did not take part in drills on board that ship in the previous month → drills within 24 h of leaving port. If full drills are not practical, hold at least a muster and instructions in that time (MGN 71 (M+F) Amd 1, 5.2). Holding the drill before sailing also meets the rule.
• Passenger ships (Classes I, II, II(A), III): an abandon-ship drill and a fire drill every week (MGN 71 (M+F) Amd 1, 5.3).
• Passenger muster: where passengers stay on board more than 24 h, muster them on departure and show them how to don a lifejacket (MGN 71 (M+F) Amd 1, 5.4).
• Enclosed space entry and rescue drills: crew with these duties drill at least every 2 months (SOLAS III/19, in force 1 January 2015).
• Lifeboats: launched with their crew and manoeuvred in the water at least every 3 months; free-fall lifeboats at least every 6 months (MGN 71 (M+F) Amd 1, 10.1, 10.4).
• Rescue boats: launched each month where possible, never more than 3 months apart (MGN 71 (M+F) Amd 1, 11.1).
• Other emergency drills (collision, flooding, MOB…) can replace or add to fire drills, as long as each person still does one fire drill a month (5.1). When planning drills, take the Code of Safe Working Practices into account (5.1): include, if possible, enclosed space entry, working aloft and rescue from dangerous places.
• MGN 71 (M+F) Amendment 1 (24 April 2025) replaced the original MGN 71: formatting and references only, no change of policy.

Running abandon-ship and fire drills

In short: Run every drill as if it were real (MGN 71 (M+F) Amd 1, 7.1). An abandon-ship drill starts with the general alarm and the muster; a fire drill assumes a fire somewhere different each time.

Abandon-ship drill

• Sound the general alarm (7 short + 1 long).
• Stage one — muster: everyone to muster stations; crew clear unused spaces, marshal passengers, check lifejackets are worn correctly; child lifejackets for anyone under 32 kg (MGN 71 (M+F) Amd 1, 5.1, 6.1).
• Everyone must know the abandon-ship signal or order.
• Stage two — survival craft stations: lifeboat engines run ahead and astern for at least 3 min, liferaft davits swung out and winches worked, emergency lighting tested (MGN 71 (M+F) Amd 1, 9.3–9.5).
• Lifejackets are worn at musters and drills; crew in a fire drill may take them off (5.7).

Fire drill

• Conduct it, as far as practicable, as a real emergency (MGN 71 (M+F) Amd 1, 7.1).
• It is often run together with the first stage (the muster) of the abandon-ship drill.
• Assume a fire in a part of the ship and vary the place and type over time: machinery space, accommodation, galley, cargo, oil/gas (7.3).
• Start the fire pumps, get full pressure on the fire main, lay out the hoses (7.4).
• Practise closing doors, scuttles, ventilation and fire doors (7.5).
• Test the fixed extinguishing systems and alarms; use breathing apparatus, in pairs where possible (7.6).
• Discharge at least one extinguisher per drill, by a different crew member each time (7.8).

Fire equipment checks and drill records

In short: Fire equipment is checked on a monthly, quarterly and annual cycle (MGN 71 (M+F) Amd 1, 7.12). Every drill goes in the official log book (MGN 71 (M+F) Amd 1, 16.1).

• Records: enter in the official log book the date, the type of drill or training, and every time a lifeboat, rescue boat or davit-launched liferaft is lowered or launched. If a muster, drill or training session was not held in full, record why and how much was done (MGN 71 (M+F) Amd 1, 16.1).
• A drill matrix (a table of every drill and its due date) helps the Master and the safety officer see at a glance what is due.