Posted By Gary Stoker Can anyone help and provide an example of a dockside activity man overboard procedure. Im in the process of gaining an appreciation of what controls should be in place during a dockside activity which involves transferring of of a large product by crane to a vessel alongside. Any help or guidance would be appreciated.

Posted By David Bramall Gary Check out the Marine and Coastguard Agency website, it contains all sorts of free guidance for all marine type works. I think the website is www.mca.gov.uk. Also, I have found that at a local level, the mca personnel have been most willing to offer advice and visit when requested. Regards DrB

Posted By Gary Stoker Thanks all for the advice, and Phil I would appreciate a copy of your procedure Regards Gary

Posted By Phil Rochelle, If you mail me off forum with your e-mail address I will forward you a copy Phil

Posted By James Kerr Dear Gary,with regards to your question, there are many web sites which describe the procedures for the recovery of a casualty from the water. The MAIB accident reports and conclusions are also helpfull and interesting reading. However, one important factor which is not commonly known is the fact that the longer the casualty is in the water ( just 3 minutes in cold conditions )and as a result of hypothermia and the effect of water supporting the body,casualty recovery is much safer carried out in a horizontal position.In one case,a cargo ship crew were rescued alive from the sea by helicopter verticaly and placed on the deck of another vessel in the area.Unfortunately, a few later died and a post mortem showed that the blood had rushed from the top of their body to the bottom which emptied the heart of blood due to the effect of hypothermia and buoyancy. Once on the deck or on land the casualty should also be kept horizontal and warm. Do not allow them to stand up or give them alchohol.You could also look at web site www.manoverboard-mob.com which may also be of interest.Regards and hope this has not confused you but in many cases as people have found how quickly a minor incident can develop into a major one in a short period of time.