Alertness is the pre-requisite to maritime safety
A recent rescue of a man who fell off a pier proved any crew could be a Samaritan. All it takes was to be alert – within and outside of the vessel.
Coldwater rescue
A man was pulled out of the 13°C water after being spotted by an attentive crew onboard a Hapag-Lloyd owned Hanseatic Inspiration vessel in the wee hours of a morning. Hearing screams in the water near the pier, the crew reached out to nearby rescue vessel Hermann Marwede of the German Maritime Search and Rescue Association (DGzRS), which was moored at the island’s southern port and less than one nautical mile away.
Hermann Marwede deployed their rescue boat and sped to the casualty. Hanseatic Inspiration lit up the area identifying the location of the floating man, leading the responders to him. The rescued man was severely hypothermic and could not recall the duration of being in the water. He was subsequently handed to shoreside rescue services in the south harbour while Hanseatic Inspiration continued her voyage.
Attentiveness is key to maritime safety
In a statement, DGzRS commended the attentive crew who heard the screams. “If the accident had happened only a little later, the man’s calls would probably have gone unheard, and he would have drifted out to sea with the ebb current.”
Safety at sea is of utmost importance for a seafarer before starting a voyage. The ocean can be attractive at one moment and deadly at another. Attentiveness onboard need not be confined within the vessel to avoid accidents. In the case of this man’s rescue, the crew had the initiative to check the source of the screams before acting. This is a good demonstration of maritime safety – contributed by crew’s industry. The casualty need not be a bystander but a colleague onboard who happened to lose his footing.
