Bluewave Buoyancy: Staying Afloat & Keeping Crews Safe Offshore

  It takes as little as a couple of inches of water to cause drowning. It's no wonder, then, that work on or near water presents a host of serious risks that your average land working citizen will rarely need to think about. And no wonder that quality products like those from Bluewave Buoyancy are of such vital importance. The sea and other waterways and bodies of water like canals, rivers, lakes etc., can be volatile places to work. They require thorough training and diligence at all times to ensure that accidents don’t happen.

Risks of working offshore

• The risk of falling into water and drowning
• The effect of coastal tides
• Navigation issues
• The effects of extreme weather
• Trips, slips and falls
• Hypothermia
• Sunburn and heat stress
• Impact with submerged objects
• Floating or submerged debris
• Being crushed or injured by a vessel or propeller
• Contact with contaminated water
• Chemical exposure
• Manual handling and lifting hazards
• Electrical hazards
• Disregard or misjudgement of a hazard
• Lack of supervision, especially of the young
• Inability to cope once a problem arises
• The absence of rescuers and rescue equipment
• Failure to take account of weather forecasts.

And…

• Failure to provide (suitable) personal buoyancy equipment
• Failure of buoyancy equipment to operate correctly

 

How to mitigate those risks

Like any job that has specific risks, the first way to mitigate them is to perform a thorough risk assessment. This allows all possible risks to be properly identified and thus prepared for. Other important ways of mitigating risks when working on or near water include:

• Working with a partner or team, and always being in sight of at least one other person at all times
• Having appropriate communication devices that are protected against weather conditions.
• Appropriate and accessible first aid supplies
• Electrical construction, set up, operation, and maintenance should be done to reasonably avoid all risks of electrocution or shock, e.g. waterproofing, earthing.
• Appropriately positioned and installed guardrails
• Rescue lines readily available and easy to access
• Appropriate facilities for warmth and rest
• Suitable and up to date training, regularly refreshed
• Suitable PPE, such as anti-slip footwear, waterproof coveralls, warm layers, etc.
• Buoyancy PPE, such as life jackets, and lifebuoys.

Of course, it should go without saying that those working on or near water should be able to swim confidently!

Life Jackets

Life jackets are a floatation device, usually in the form of a vest or harness, which prevents sinking when in water. They are designed to keep the wearer’s head above the water to minimise the risk of drowning, even if the wearer is unconscious. In July 1995 it was made illegal to sell Life Jackets or Buoyancy Aids that have not been tested to European or International specifications. The four main classifications for ISO approval can be seen in the table below as well as details of what life jacket is appropriate for what conditions and persons.  

Bluewave Buoyancy 

Bluewave buoyancy products are designed and manufactured by Marine Warehouse, a Swansea based company that has been around for over 20 years. Life jacket specialists, Marine Warehouse are "Europe’s largest independent specialist in the sales and service of lifejackets and Buoyancy Aids". They also support British manufacturing, with many of their life jackets being both designed and produced in British factories. To learn more about British manufacturing, you can read our blog here. Producing high-quality buoyancy aids, this company is setting the standard for the industry and providing life jackets and other equipment that is guaranteed to provide safety that can be relied upon. Quality is always of the utmost importance here at CMT. We want you to be assured that the products you purchase are going to serve their purpose, and do so well and for a long time. This is why we now stock Bluewave buoyancy equipment. To cater properly to those who work upon water to the same standard we do those working on land, we had to be sure we were proving excellent quality buoyancy aid. This can be found in Bluewave buoyancy products.  

Bluewave Life Jackets 

You can find a great range of Bluewave Buoyancy life jackets, including the one seen left, now on the CMT website. For the Bluewave 150N Manual Lifejacket (left) click here. For its automatic equivalent, the Bluewave Manual 150N Automatic Lifejacket can be found here. We also stock other fantastic kits from Bluewave including the 100N Foam Lifejacket, perfect for a range of water-based activities, which you can find here.

Life Buoys

Bluewave's great equipment doesn't stop with life jackets. We also stock a range of buoys and floatation equipment too. You can find the lifebuoy (pictured right) here, and partner it with a lifebuoy hook for convenient, practical and safe storage which you can find here. We aim to provide high-quality equipment across all our products and that extends to our buoyancy equipment and lifejackets. Working with respected brands like Bluewave allows us to provide our customers with equipment that will effective keep them safe.

Offshore Jobs

Working on or near water encompasses a vast range of different jobs in a wide number of industries. From fisheries to water adventure parks, cruise ships to submarines to freighters. The list is long, but generally, offshore jobs are those where the work requires you to be working on (or near) bodies of water; just what it says on the tin!

Marine/Naval/Cargo/Cruise

Royal Navy - Work includes stabilising seas, keeping maritime trade flowing, engaging in humanitarian work and aid, providing security at sea, prevent conflict and engage in conflict when diplomacy fails. These are collective roles, and work in the naval will also include some of the roles included below, such as engineering roles etc. Cargo - Transporting goods across seas. Roles on cargo ships are widely varied, like with any large vessel, requiring engineers, electro-technical specialists, ranked officers, and other jobs such as cooks. Cruise - Cruise ships are passenger ships often travelling long distances. Work can include the aforementioned technical roles as well as entertainment and hosting roles too. Whilst these jobs vary greatly in their purpose and roles, they share similar risks, and health and safety expectations. Understanding the risk of working at sea is vital to working on these large vessels to keep yourself, your colleagues and, where present, your guests safe.

Drilling/Rigs

Drilling in oil and gas is the process of creating holes in the earth's surface to locate gas and oil sources. Varying in size, they can be a small one-person operation or much larger and capable of drilling thousands of meters below the surface. The rigs can also test sub-surface material, to understand the physical properties of a drill site. Once again, working on the water, where weather conditions can be harsh and unpredictable, the risks of this type of work are distinct. Appropriate training and equipment are vital to the safe execution of this work.

Environmental

Many offshore jobs are focused on environmental studies, testing and protection. Climate issues and pollution affect more than just the ecosystem on land. Issues such as plastic waste, oil spills and changing weather patterns are leaving a lasting impact on coral reefs, aquatic animals and water quality. Documenting these changes to identify issues and measures that need to be taken to protect the water-based ecosystems requires a range of complex jobs. These jobs will also vary depending on where in the world they work is being done too. Such varied and complex jobs in and around the water require thorough training and understanding of the risks. They are another example of where suitable buoyancy equipment and other water-specific PPE is key to staying safe on the job.

Emergency (RNLI/Coast Guard)

Coast Guards - the purpose of coastguards is to protect the wellbeing of people and prevent loss of life along the coast. A demanding job, these roles require highly trained people to deal with difficult and often highly dangerous situations. The volatility of the sea means that when things go wrong, for instance, a sailor going overboard or a swimmer being carried out with the current, there are often tight time constraints. Fast action is required to ensure the safe recovery of people in danger, whilst also maintain the safety of coastguard workers. The RNLI - The Royal National Lifeboat Institution is a charity made up of volunteers saving lives at sea and has been around for nearly 200 years. They are separate from coastguards, though the work they do has similarities. Their lifeboat crews and lifeguards rescue thousands of people every year through direct action, and they also educate and train others to further prevent injury and death at sea.

Staying Safe with Bluewave Buoyancy

It's easy to forget the many jobs that take place on the water, but these roles are filled by a great number of people. Safety in any job is essential, and providing that safety is something we do best. We're excited to be stocking the quality products from Bluewave Buoyancy and extending our support for health and safety across the waters.