At BC Ferries, passenger safety is our highest priority. In every way, the Corporation either meets or exceeds the safety standards established by Transport Canada. From vessel design and operation, to crew training and rescue equipment, you can rest assured that BC Ferries puts safety first.
PREPARED FOR EMERGENCIES
Officers and crew, from the people on the bridge and in the engine room, to those who work in the catering areas, are Transport Canada Marine Safety certified to deal effectively with emergency situations.
As part of our ongoing commitment to safety, operational guidelines call for a boat and fire drill by each watch, twice during every "duty cycle" - every five to ten days, depending on the watch rotation aboard individual ships.
Over one thousand drills will be conducted this year to ensure the highest safety standards for BC Ferries' vessels and crews.
In the event of an emergency, please move away from the areas of concern and always follow the instructions of ship's personnel. You are also asked to avoid using elevators or going to the vehicle decks unless otherwise instructed.
EMERGENCY SIGNALS
The following signals are used to alert crew members to an emergency:
Fire - a continuous ringing of the alarm bell.
Person Overboard - three long soundings of the whistle and general alarm bell. In Person Overboard situations, never crowd outer decks where rescue operations are underway.
Boat/Raft Stations - seven (or more) short soundings followed by one long sounding of the ship's whistle and/or alarm bell.
Signals will be followed by an announcement explaining the nature of the emergency. If you hear a signal, don't panic. Our crew will take immediate charge of the situation, and let you know exactly what to do.
LIFE BOATS
This vessel carries three 52-person life boats for use in evacuation operations.
RESCUE BOATS
This vessel carries one five-person rescue boat.
LIFE JACKETS
Life jackets are stowed in clearly marked lockers throughout all interior and exterior decks.
Note: There are two types of life jacket available: one for young children up to 90 pounds (41 kg), and one for adults.
SHIP EVACUATION
If the ship needs to be evacuated, inflatable slides, similar to those used for passenger aircraft, can be deployed by crew members from the open decks at the Deck 4 level.
Employing the same basic principles as playground slides, and looking much like them, they are easy for all passengers to use by sliding quickly down to a life raft.
There are 16 such rafts, each capable of carrying 100 passengers. In total, the life rafts can accommodate more people than the maximum the ship will ever take.
FIRE EXTINGUISHERS
Fire extinguishers are located in all interior and exterior passenger decks areas. In addition, there are heat-sensitive sprinklers on the passenger decks, and manual deluge systems on the vehicle decks.
The information contained here applies to the Queen of New Westminster only. Locations and complement of safety equipment on other vessels will vary.
This pagerevised as of Jun 22, 2009 at 9:43 AM Pacific
