A Day in the Life

So what does a Third Mate do exactly? Well, a little bit of everything. Aside from standing watch on the Bridge, I am incharge of Damage Control which covers a wide range of topics but mostly boils down to flooding control, fire prevention, and all safety equipment on board. I conduct monthly inspections, inventories, and maintenance on any broken parts. All Damage Control equipment needs to be ready to use at a moment’s notice; safety inspections are paramount. An Emergency is not the time to discover something is broken or missing.

Life Boat Testing:

Life Boats are lifted with Gravity Davits and they much be weight tested annually to ensure they can lift the Lifeboat with people inside safely. This was an all crew evolution. The way this test works is that you fill giant bags with water to the Safe Working Load (SWL) of 16,000lbs and lower the Lifeboat over the side. Once the boat is safely suspended and passes the test, the technician climbs down the ladder and lets the water out of the bags.

Shoring:

A big part of Damage Control is structural integrity of the ship during a flood. The picture above shows a K Shoring Demonstration from a training drill. K Shoring would be used to push back against a caving bulkhead. The particular shoring shown is metal adjustable shoring. Shoring can be made of wood or metal. Metal battens are adjustable so you do not need to cut wood and are quicker to put together; however, metal battens are not flexible and do not soak up water and create a seal. The large wooden 4×4 is called the Stromback. That is where the forces push back on the weak bulkhead. Shoring works by connecting the forces at right angles and the Stromback spreads the force across a larger surface area on the bulkhead. Shoring can be used to support a bowing or sagging bulkhead or to help hold a door closed after the space is filled with water.

SCBAs:

Self Contained Breathing Apparatuses (SCBAs) are part of a ship’s fire fighting plan. Each bottle holds up to 45 minutes of air. 80% of fire related deaths are caused due to smoke inhalation and NOT from the exposure to flames. Each month I check the bottle levels, function, and seal of each bottle and pak. The paks are already connected to the bottles. All a person has to do is put their arms through the pak and pull the quick release from the bulkhead. This is part of the full firesuit that mariners wear when fighting a fire.

Damage Control Lockers:

The Maury has two Damage Control lockers on board. Yes, I can name every item in this picture. In fact, I count it every month. You would be surprised, but counting takes up a big portion of my time! 😂 Each Locker is designed to be a muster area for any type of Emegency: Fire Firghting, Flooding Control, Dewatering, etc. It is important that this equipment is easily accessible. On the Maury, during Emergency Response, the Third Mate is incharge of the Lockers and stands by to provide the correct equipment, answer questions, and make sure the crew are suited up properly. Emergencies are never the ideal situations that are practiced during drills; therefore, it is important that I take time to know different possibilities that each item can be used for. Reasourcefulness, quick thinking, and communication are key.