Press ReleasesFrom Gozochannel
GOZO CHANNEL’S CREW ATTEND SEA SURVIVAL COUR 17/04/2000



17th April 2000


GOZO CHANNEL’S CREW ATTEND SEA SURVIVAL COURSE


In an effort to enhance safety measures on board its vessels, Gozo Channel recently organised a series of Sea Survival Courses for its crew members. The intensive courses were aimed at instructing employees and providing them with updated guidlines on the sea survival techniques involved in the eventuality of an emergency at sea.

The course was held at the National Swimming Pool Complex at Tal-Qroqq and was coordinated by Mr Lino Axiaq, Lecturer at the Nautical School of Malta. The sessions covered a wide variety of topics ranging from the basic know how on the use of life jackets and other safety equipment to more rigorous exercises such as the use of the quoit which consists of a solid ring attached to a rope to help drag people towards the raft. Other exercises included practice in heat conservation, techniques in jumping in water from high altitudes, the inflating of a rubber raft, recapsizing a capsized raft at sea, and the use of smoke signals and flares.

Commenting on the organisation of these courses, Gozo Channel Chairman Mr John E Sullivan stated that “we have held these courses for our members of the crew because we felt that it was our priority to ensure that all our commuters were receiving the best standard of service. We are very proud of our employees who showed great interest in the organisation of these sessions.”

Mr Sullivan added that “this was an interesting experience because employees had the opportunity to come to terms with what an emergency really entails. In fact, during an emergency, the most important thing is to keep in control of the situation and during the course, the workers were taught to understand not only the technique of using safety equipment but also why they were using it. This, we deem, is the most important aspect during this type of training courses.”

The Sea Survival Course was another initiative which goes in line with Gozo Channel’s safety and security control procedures for the eventual adoption of the International Safety Management (ISM) Code. Similar courses will continue to be organised during the comping months.

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