Contingency Plan for Sailing Yachts Charter - Case Study Example

Contingency Plan for Sailing Yachts Charter Contents Introduction…………………………………………………………………….. 2 Definition of Terms……………………………………………………………… 2 Part 1: Contingency Plan……………………………………………………….. 3 Reporting………………………………………………………………. . 5 Basic Responsibilities…………………………………………………… 5 Part 2: Critique and Emergency Scenarios………………………………………. 6 Fire on Board…………………………………………………… 6 Main Engine Failure…………………………………………….. 7 Act of Terrorism or Piracy……………………………………… 8 After the Incident………………………………………………………. 8 Conclusion……………………………………………………………………… 10 Reference List…………………………………………………………………… 11 Introduction Emergency incidents occur due to disasters and accidents which happen in the most unexpected place and time. Thousands of lives are lost due to various sudden, haphazard events such as vehicular accidents, slips and falls, animal accidents (bites), medical related errors, food poisoning, and chemical accidents and spills, among others. Aside from work-related injuries and illnesses, natural disasters and terrorist attacks also pose grave threats to people’s lives, properties and the environment. In terms of emergency incidents in ships or charter yachts, the following should be closely taken into account: fire, power failure, collision, terrorism or piracy, flooding, and the need to abandon ship, among others. In this regard, the paper has a two-fold objective: part 1 aims to present a contingency plan for the yacht charter business under the Bo Ameer Company for Sailing Yachts Charter; and part 2 would present a critique of the proposed contingency plan on the basis of diverse contingent scenarios. Definition of Terms As defined by IsecT (2010), “contingency planning is an all-encompassing term meaning making preparations for uncertain future situations (i.e. what we do is literally contingent - depends upon - the situation that actually unfolds).  It comprises a suite of techniques designed to identify and minimize risks, largely by preparing for the unexpected” (par. 1). Pursuant to the standards set by the National Fire Protection Association (2007), one of the required elements in planning is that the plan shall assign responsibilities for carrying out specific actions in an emergency situation. Therefore, with regard to the step requiring immediate response that requires coordination with external first response organizations, the critical steps contained herein are as follows: preparedness, prevention, response and recovery in instances of disasters and other extreme events. Generally, an emergency is defined as any unplanned or unforeseen event that calls for immediate action as it can cause death or significant injuries to the organization’s personnel or to the public, or that can shut down business, disrupt operations, cause physical or environmental damage, or can threaten the institutions financial standing or public image. Business Dictionary defines disaster response as “aggregate of decisions and measures taken to (1) contain or mitigate the effects of a disastrous event to prevent any further loss of life and/or property, (2) restore order in its immediate aftermath, and (3) reestablish normality through reconstruction and rehabilitation shortly thereafter. The first and immediate response is called emergency response.” (Business Dictionary, 2010, 1) Part 1: Contingency Plan Two plans must actually be prepared: shipboard and shore based. For the paper’s particular purpose, the shore based plan is hereby detailed: •   “ Composition and duties of the persons assigned to any one plan: •    Procedures to follow in response to different types of accidents or potential   hazards. •    Detailed information of individual fleet ships covering stability, general arrangement, tank plans, safety equipment, anti-pollution equipment etc. •    Procedures detailing priority and secondary lines of communication between ship and shore. •    Third party organisations that need to be advised/consulted or mobilised to assist. •    Reporting methods between ship and shore management (see IMO resolution A.648/16). •    Formalised checklists appropriate to the type of emergency which will assist   systematic communication between ship and shore. •    Procedures for notifying next of kin on a priority basis. •    Procedures for issuing information bulletins to the media. •    Back up arrangements in terms of resources and personnel for a protracted emergency. Contingency plan exercises will be carried out at intervals not exceeding 6 months” (Safety Management Manual, 1). Initial data necessitates identification of various people to contact in an incident. Their contact information should be located at the front of the plan so one wont have to waste valuable seconds paging through a lengthy document. (Kirvan 2009) The security personnel and/or management personnel should be responsible in ensuring that this data is complete and workable. In this case, the business manager, as the chief operating officer must oversee the implementation of the contingency plan. An external resources review should be undertaken by the security personnel and authorized management. The following offices should be identified and the respected contact numbers must be made readily accessible and available: ship’s Master (Business Manager), Chief Engineer, Coast Guard, Harbor Authority, Terminal Authority and Fire Brigade, among others. After identification of the externals first response organizations, an emergency response procedure should be properly addressed to enable the organization to relay the needed information to the external organizations. The following concerns should be put in mind: is the situation adequately assessed? Have the employees, customers, visitors, equipment, vital records, and other assets been initially protected? Does the organization have back up reports and plans to keep the business continuing after the disaster? To effectively coordinate with external organizations, support documents should also be available and accessible. The following numbers should be prepared: emergency call lists (people responding, their responsibilities and phone numbers), employee lists (employees with their home phone numbers and currently updated cell phone numbers), and resource lists (equipment and supplies that could be needed in an emergency). Reporting As formatted from the Shipboard Contingency Plan, “the Company has prepared specific contingency plans to deal with potential shipboard emergencies.  These plans have been developed to cover both ship and shore response to any incident and ensure that the Company responds to an emergency in a co-ordinated, prompt and effective manner” (Safety Management Manual, 1). The Master must report any emergency incident to the Coast Guard or Harbor Authority as soon as possible by giving the following details: name of ship, exact location, ports, kind of emergency or extent of damage, number of personnel and visitors on board, casualties (if any), kind of assistance needed, other ships involved, other external agencies informed, weather situation, and time and date of report, among others. Basic Responsibilities Business Manager (or the Ship’s Master) would have the responsibility of taking control of the situation especially during shipboard contingencies and emergency situations. In port, he would have to immediately notify the Harbor Authority, Terminal Authority, owner (or co-owners of the business), local agents and the fire brigade. The Chief Engineer will take charge of the machineries and the condition of the yacht, at all points in time during the emergency situation; taking into account the areas which need to be addressed or if there are damages that can be controlled. Chief (Financial) Officer should be in charge of the needed deck operations (life saving equipment, fire extinguishers, tow lines, etc.) during emergency situations. Administrative Officer should be in charge of all personnel (employees and guests) and ensure their safety, determine any injuries and apply first aids as needed. Second Engineers would assist the Chief Engineer in determining any assistance needed for the machines and needed maintenance work to address emergency situations. Skippers and Mates must assist Administrative Officer in accounting for all employees and guests and to ensure their overall safety during emergency situations. Part 2: Critique and Emergency Scenarios As part of the critique, the following scenarios are thought of as possible emergency situations that the yacht charter business could face at some point in time. Therefore, the suggested steps, according to the general contingency plan are perceived: A. Fire on Board 1. Call the Master as soon as possible (to report where the fire started and the extent of the damage) and immediately set the fire alarm. (Master complies with reporting responsibilities, Chief Engineer informed to check on the machines). 2. Skippers and mates must immediately assist in shutting off all electrical connections. 3. Crew must try to prepare for firefighting if fire is still manageable. 4. Chief Financial officer must prepare life saving equipments and lifeboats. 5. Administration officer with crew’s assistance must account for all lives on board. Critique: There must be a stipulated in the contingency plan for possibilities when any of the crucial personnel is not around. For example, what is the Master is not around when a fire happens? What if any of the identified personnel are not around? In this regard, the contingency plan must identify back-up responsibilities in cases of absences or non availability of crucial personnel involved in the emergency scenario. For instant, there could be a stipulation that: In case of absence of crucially responsible authority, the personnel who are next in line would assume the absent officer’s responsibility in times of emergency scenarios. B. Main Engine Failure 1. Call Master to inform of the incident. Master to call Coastguard. 2. Call Chief Engineer to address the situation immediately. 3. Second engineers must immediately assist Chief Engineer to determine the source of the engine failure. 4. Determine if engine could be restarted. 5. Consider the need for towing. Critique: There should also me a monitoring system to verify if the critical reporting and responsibilities have been undertaken. One can never assume that everything has been accounted for as defined in the policies or in the contingency plan. For monitoring purposes, the officer in a rank higher must monitor if responsibilities indicated under the contingency plan has been adhered to. For example, the responsibilities of the Chief Engineer in cases of main engine failure must be monitored by the Master. On the other hand, since the Master is the highest in command for emergency situations, the second in command, or the Chief Engineer, should at least validate if the necessary external agencies were contacted as needed. This would also be in the form of assistance and a counter-checking to ensure that safety and security of lives are never compromised. C. Act of Terrorism or Piracy 1. Call Master (who informs all external agencies required). 2. Sound the appropriate alarm “Ship Under Attack”. 3. Crew on alert to block all possible entries and access to the yacht. 4. Administration officer to be alerted to ensure the safety and accountability of all personnel and guests. 5. Chief finance officer must be alerted to assist in determining life saving accessories on board. 6. Guard the engine room. Chief Engineer in full accountability. Critique: As indicated above, the command responsibilities in cases of absences must be noted; as well as the counterchecking or monitoring to tasks to be made during critical scenarios. If additional manpower is needed to address critical incidents, the Administration officer, who is supposed to be acquainted with the guests on board, could seek the guests’ assistance, only when required. Otherwise, all crew members must ensure that the safety and security of the guests are never compromised. After the Incident Demobilization entails applying measures from the emergency response scenario back to a normalized state. Information and communication processes must be disseminated at all channels to revert personnel, equipment, and resources back to their natural status. An equal amount of effort and resources are required for demobilization process. Therefore, emergency personnel must be trained to maximize reverting efforts at the most economical costs. There is no way to exactly allot a dollar amount for response procedures, as the necessary materials and resources have been deployed during the preparedness stage. The recovery phase necessitates an assessment of the extent of the damage unique to the organization but entails the inclusion of the development, coordination, and execution of service- and site-restoration plans; reconstitution of operations and services; programs to promote restoration of company operations; long-term care and treatment of affected persons; and additional measures for organizational restoration. (USDNS, 2008, 45) The budget for recovery would depend on the extent of the potential damage that would ensue from the disaster or extreme emergency situation. It could be a minor thousand dollars or hundreds of thousands, if the damage is severe. Especially when lives are lost, there is no exact replacement for the life lost except to recruit other candidates for the position that were left vacant. In this regard, the cost of recruiting, training, and re-orienting new personnel would be inputted in the budget for recovery. Critique: All phases in the planning, organizing, training, equipping, exercising, evaluating must regularly be monitored to address any weaknesses in the plan and to make the necessary adjustments, as needed. A contingency plan for ships and yachts should actually incorporate the need to go on regular drills to address emergency scenarios. These drills and their specific schedules must be incorporated in the contingency plan: indicating who are to attend, when, and where, among others. This is one way to improve awareness of all crew members on their basic responsibilities to address emergency situations, as required. Conclusion Contingency planning should encompass areas such as preparedness and prevention, response and recovery, including external relations and communications necessary to execute the plan. Pursuant with the requirements stipulated in the US Department of National Security (USDNS), the six essential elements in the preparedness cycle included planning, organizing, training, equipping, exercising, and evaluating and improving. (USDNS, 2008, 27) When disaster strikes, the appropriate response criteria are: (1) gaining and maintaining situational awareness; (2) activating and deploying key resources and capabilities; (3) effectively coordinating response actions; then, as the situation permits, (4) demobilizing. (USDNS, 2008, 32) Finally, the recovery phase necessitates an assessment of the extent of the damage unique to each organization – but is generally applicable even for the yacht charter business. To ensure each individual’s safety, organizations prepare emergency response procedures and contingency plans to explicitly state how the facility will respond to emergencies and threats. The best response is actually to remain vigilant and to continue the extensive efforts to thwart possible emergency situations to ensure the preservation of human lives. Reference List Business Dictionary. 2010. Definition of Disaster Response, [Online]. Available at: < http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/disaster-response.html> [Accessed 04 December 2010]. IsecT 2010. Contingency Planning, [Online]. Available at: http://www.isect.com/html/contingency.html [Accessed 04 December 2010]. Kirvan, P 2009. Using a business continuity plan template: A free business continuity template and guide, [Online]. Available at: http://searchdisasterrecovery.techtarget.com/generic/0,295582,sid190_gci1354703,00.html [Accessed 04 December 2010]. Safety Management Manual n.d. Uppskot til Safety Management Manual, [Online]. Available at: http://www.navit.fo/dokumentir/ISM_manual_uppskot.htm [Accessed 04 December 2010]. Shipboard Contingency Plan n.d., [Online]. Available at: http://www.scribd.com/doc/8369258/-I-SHIPBOARD-Contingency-Plan [Accessed 04 December 2010]. US Department of National Security 2008. National Response Framework, [Online]. Available at: http://www.fema.gov/pdf/emergency/nrf/nrf-core.pdf [Accessed 04 December 2010]. Read More