Lifeboat
For the 1944 movie, see Lifeboat (film).A
lifeboat is a rigid (or inflatable)
boat designed to rescue people in trouble at sea. Lifeboats are kept in harbour or near a harbour, in a special building, at an offshore platform or on board a ship.
Inflatable lifeboats onboard a ship may be equipped with auto-inflation
carbon dioxide canisters or mechanical pumps. A quick release and pressure release mechanism is fitted so that the canister or pump automatically inflates the lifeboat, and the lifeboat breaks free of the sinking vessel.
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The lifeboat at Brixham, south Devon, England, kept permanently afloat in the harbour. |
The first boat specialized as a lifeboat was tested on the
River Tyne on
January 29,
1790.
William Wouldhave and
Lionel Lukin both claimed to be the inventor of the first lifeboat. One example of an early lifeboat was the
Landguard Fort Lifeboat of 1821, designed by
Richard Hall Gower.
These are large
whaleboats designed to be lowered from
davits on a ship's deck. They are designed to be unsinkable, with buoyancy that cannot be damaged. They have a cover that can be erected to form a storm shelter and sunshade. The cover can usually collect rainwater, and is visible from the air. They usually carry flares and mirrors for signaling, three days of food and water, oars, an engine, heater and basic navigational equipment.
The
International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) and the
International Life-Saving Appliance Code (LSA) require a specific list of emergency equipment to be carried on each lifeboat and liferaft used on international voyages. Modern lifeboats should also carry an
Emergency Position-Indicating Radio Beacon (EPIRB) and either a
radar reflector or
search and rescue radar transponder.
Traditionally lifeboats for passages in the
Pacific or
Indian Oceans were thought unsafe unless they permitted self-rescue. Thus these traditionally included
sailing equipment,
navigational equipment, solar water stills, rainwater catchments and
fishing equipment. Lifeboats for the
North Sea include an electric heater for the engine oil, which is left on in cold weather.
A very commonly used lifeboat is a 25-man inflatable; in the
United States Navy it is named the Mark 6. The lifeboat is compact and made of separate compartments, or
tubes, as a redundancy against puncture.
Carbon dioxide canisters and hand
pump facilitate inflation of the vessel. A built-in canopy is often included as part of a lifeboat against harsh weather. Lifeboats furthermore carry essential
survival gear, including food, water,
de-salter kits, bags, sea
dye,
first aid kits,
fishing kits, light/smoke distress signals (Mark 13), and
heliograph mirrors.
Most yachts carry lifeboats. Some use dual-purpose
dinghies, often with the express plan of self-rescue, while others use inflatable life-rafts. The equipment and arrangements are very similar to larger commercial lifeboats.
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Lifeboat tender of the Oosterdam; note the "face mask" over the front windows, and the rolled-up tarp that can be brought down over the entry port to make the boat watertight |
By the turn of the
20th Century larger ships meant more people could travel, but safety rules in regard with lifeboats stayed out of date. It was after the sinking of the
RMS Titanic on
April 15,
1912, that a movement began to require a sufficient number of lifeboats on passenger ships for all people on board.
The need for so many more lifeboats on the decks of passenger ships after
1912 led to the use of most of the deck space available even on the large ships, creating the problem of restricted passageways. This was resolved by the introduction of collapsible lifeboats, a number of which had been installed on the
Titanic (see
Birthon Boat Company).
The
ship's tenders of modern
cruise ships are often designed to double as lifeboats.
Also see the discussion in
dinghy and
liferaft.
Modern
motor life boats (MLB) originated as life boats that had been modified with the addition of an
engine and provided more power to get in and out of the swell area inside the surf. They can be launched from shore in any weather and perform rescues further distances out. Older lifeboats relied on sails and oars, which are slower and dependent on wind conditions or manpower. Both types remain in use. All lifeboats of this type generally have modern electronic devices such as
radios and
radar to help locate the party in distress and carry medical and food supplies for the survivors.
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A 47 MLB charges through the surf |
The MLB was initially developed by the
United States Life Saving Service in
1899, of which models derived from this hull design remained in use until
1987. The United States Life Saving Service later would become the
United States Coast Guard and continue in its original mission of saving lives.
The
Royal National Lifeboat Institution (or RNLI) maintains lifeboats around the coasts of the
United Kingdom and
Republic of Ireland, manned by unpaid volunteers with equipment funded through voluntary donation - web-site at
www.rnli.org.uk. Most
Scandinavian countries also have volunteer lifeboat societies. The local branch of a society generally schedules practices, maintains a lifeboat and shed, and is contacted by commercial marine radio operators when a rescue is needed.
In
Australasia,
surf lifesaving clubs operate inflatable rescue boats (IRB) for in-shore rescues of swimmers and surfers. These boats are best typified by the rubber Zodiac and are powered by an outboard motor. The rescue personnel wear wet suits. The
Rigid Hulled Inflatable Boat (RIB) is now seen as the best type of craft for in-shore rescues as they are less likely to be tipped over by the wind or breakers. Specially designed
Jet rescue boats have also been used successfully. Unlike ordinary pleasure craft, these small to medium sized rescue craft often have very low freeboard so that victims can be taken aboard without lifting. This means that the boats are designed to operate with water inside the boat hull and rely on flotation tanks rather than hull displacement to stay afloat and upright.
Lifeboats are also operated inland at specific events, organisations such as the
Royal Life Saving Society (RLSS UK) provide coverage of rivers, lakes and such like.
When the
Apollo 13 command module was damaged by an explosion in the service module, the lunar module was used as a lifeboat as it had separate life support, propulsion and guidance systems that remained functional (though it was not a lifeboat in the sense that it was detached from the main vehicle).
The
International Space Station has as "lifeboat" a
Soyuz spacecraft, the
Soyuz TMA-6, for an emergency landing of the crew.
Any small self-contained spacecraft designed to operate as a life-preserving vehicle or
escape pod for the crew of a spacecraft in distress might also be termed a "lifeboat", and this usage frequently appears in
science fiction.
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Life Boat Services Around the World*
Garde côtière canadienne Canadian Coast Guard
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USCG National Motor Life Boat School USCG Station Cape Disappointment, WA
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Royal National Lifeboat Institution United Kingdom
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Koninklijke Nederlandsche Reddings Maatschappij The Netherlands
