Ship Familiarization and Training for Crew Member joining a Ship

The aim of the familiarization & training given to a new crew is to make him or her aware of important safety
procedures that are to be carried out on ships while working or during an emergency situation. He/she must
be familiarized with his/her duties and important information about the ship. This is to ensure that the new
people onboard ship understand their responsibilities thoroughly before commencing their duties.
It is a normal procedure on board ships that the new crew member will be given familiarization of his or her
duties by the person who is being relieved.
The familiarization training will include:

• Duties to be performed by the new crew member

• Specific equipment to be operated and maintained
• Ship specific watch keeping duties
• Any particular instruction regarding machinery or ship parts which the new crew member
should know
• If the new member belongs to the deck side, he or she will be familiarized with navigational
equipment, GMDSS, steering system, mooring equipment, cargo handling equipment etc.
• If the new member belongs to the engine side, he or she will be familiarized with the
designated machinery, maintenance procedures, and watch keeping procedures

Though all crew personnel joining the ship have to do STCW training, there are several specific instructions,
which are important for safe operations on ships.
Apart from the watch keeping procedure at sea and in port, the new crew members would also be briefed
about any standing orders from the chief engineer, chief officer or master.
It is the duty of the master to ensure that each joining crew member is given proper familiarization training to
ensure personal safety and well-being of the ship. The master would designate a qualified person (e.g. the
Chief Officer for the deck dept. and common parameters) in charge of training the new crew members of the
ship. It is the duty of the officer in charge of the training to train the new crew regarding:
1. Familiarity with safety installations and practice Musters
2. Important features of muster list
3. Different types of alarms on board
4. Procedure to raise an alarm in case of an accident or emergency
5. Procedure for abandon ship alarm
6. Actions for man overboard situation
7. Familiarity with assigned emergency duties as per muster list
8. Testing of emergency lighting for mustering and abandonment
9. Ship’s Fire Control Plan
10. Basics of fire prevention on ships
11. Different types of fire-fighting appliances and procedures to use them
12. Instructions on SOLAS and MARPOL
13. Important documents and publications of ships
14. Guidelines on how to tackle all kinds of emergency situations on board

Apart from the above-mentioned points, the officer must also ensure that the new crew members know the
following:

• Location of life jackets and immersion suits, along with the procedure to wear the life jacket
• Location of escape routes
• Location of his or her cabin, along with the location of the nearest escape route and fire
extinguisher
• Actions to be taken in case of medical emergency before further medical assistance is received
• Operation of fire and water-tight doors fitted on ships
• Important instructions on various drills on ships
Other Safety Instructions
Apart from duty and safety instructions, the officer in charge of the familiarization training would instruct the new
crew member regarding important issues such as

• Garbage management plan and how to handle garbage on ships

• Oil pollution prevention plan
• Ship Security Plan
• Ballast water management plan
• Life boat release procedure
• Life raft release procedure
• Use of maritime distress signals & flares
It is to note that training on life saving appliances and fire-fighting appliances must be completed as soon as
possible and not later than 2 weeks after joining the ship.

Familiarisation & Training SOLAS CH. & REG. Time within Remarks
Muster list & Emg. Instructions, muster card, various alarms III – 8,19,37 Before sailing

Operating Instructions III – 9 Two weeks Survival Crafts

Manning & Supervision III – 10 Two weeks Survival Crafts
Rescue boat – Embarkation, Launching & Recovery III – 17 Two weeks Rescue Boat
Recovery of person from the water III – 17-1 Two weeks Also, for Ro-Ro passenger vessel
Familiarity with safety installations and practice musters, III – 19 Before sailing

Abandon ship Drill & Fire Drill which include various III – 19 24 h of the ship leaving port Otherwise, within a month
operations & checks if >25% of the crew changed
Encl. space entry including various checks & techniques III – 19 Two months

Emergency Steering - Drill V- 26 Three months Main & Auxiliary st. gear to be
tested within 12h before dep.
On-board training and instructions on LSA & FFA III – 19 Two weeks

Training manual and on-board training aids III – 35 Two weeks

Control of air supply and flammable liquid to the space & II-2- 5.2, 5.3 Two weeks
Fire protection materials
Suppression of fire – Detection & Alarm II-2 – 7 Two weeks

Containment of fire – Thermal and structural Boundaries II-2 – 9 Two weeks

Fire-fighting System – Pertaining to the ship II-2 – 10 Two weeks

Fire-fighting System–Pertaining to the ship (for Tanker) II-2 – 10.8, 10.9 ASAP (prior to cargo work)

Means of escape – Work-place/Pertaining to the ship II-2 – 13 Before sailing/Two weeks

Instructions, onboard training and drills II-2 – 15 Two weeks to Three months To understand the content of the
training manual, training obtd.,
Various drills performed
Ship security training XI-2 / ISPS Code Three months or, 1 wk of the Or, prior to entering H.R.A.
ship leaving port if >25% of
the crew changed

N.B. FOR A CADET JOINING TANKER AS HIS FIRST SHIP –

You should consider him as a fresh trainee and so to add few more general points on his own safety +
on various hazards on tanker-work + treating few spaces as ‘Enclosed Space’ + necessity of clear
communication + absolute risk-free jobs etc. etc.