Diary of a Sea-Going Sailor

Part 7, Ship's Safety

Continued from Part 6

A ship, whether at sea or in port, is an industrial environment. It is important to keep safety in mind. Otherwise, in the worst case, your mind will be in the environment in an unpleasant way.

Throughout the ship there are pipes and cables. It’s not like any of Star Fleet’ starships as seen on television – power panels, pipes and cables are not hidden behind false walls, but are for the most part right out in the open.

And there are all sizes of each – cables from simple telephone wire to armored cable, pipes small and large.

Cables are easy – they carry power. Generally, the larger the cable, the more power that goes through it. Electricity at sea is a special hazard – the ship is the ground. Special safety precautions exist, and if one wishes to bring aboard any personal electronic gear, it must be checked for safety, and is some cases (such as electric irons) modified for a three-pronged plug.

Pipes are a slightly different matter – some pipes carry water – the fireman, for instance. Some carry fuel – either for the engines or for helicopter refueling. Some carry high-pressure or low-pressure air for the pneumatics. Some pipes carry something even more noxious – gray water, or even worse: black water. Used to be that the pipes themselves were color coded, but now it’s primarily the valve handles that are colored. For example, red to indicate fire-fighting water, green to indicate seawater, blue to indicate fresh water, purple to indicate fuel, gold to indicate sewage and/or chemical holding and transfer…

These are only some of the reasons for the existence of the OPNAV Instruction 5100.19D series – it is the at sea safety manual. It can be read at:

• http://neds.nebt.daps.mil/Directives/5100.19d_CH-1.pdf, and the changes to each of the three sections at
• http://neds.nebt.daps.mil/Directives/5100.19d_V_I.pdf
• http://neds.nebt.daps.mil/Directives/5100.19d_V_II.pdf, and
• http://neds.nebt.daps.mil/Directives/5100.19d_V_III.pdf

The Navy has been a source of great pride, joy, and satisfaction to me. But, yes - I’ve fallen afoul of the hazards at sea. I have scars on my arm from puncture wounds from a piece of diamond tread plating (ship zigged, I zagged… Tag!, I’m it). I’ve a small scar on my forehead, where a piece of equipment and I had a disagreement. And most recently, I was knocked on my keister after my head met up with a firemain valve bolt (bolt was at 6 foot height… and I stand 6’1”). Lots of blood, but no stitches. Some shipmates weren’t so lucky.

We’re all human. We make mistakes. But in the Navy, on a ship, we need to do our best to keep the mistakes to a minimum. Over the years, I’ve seen screw-ups that only the grace of the Creator prevented tragedy… and the heroic efforts of the Hospital Corpsmen when the tragedy did occur.

On one command, we had an individual receive a broken arm – because he thought he could catch and hold a falling tool chest (he was wrong). A friend on the same ship took 440 volts AC through her chest after an idiot decided to turn on a tagged circuit breaker (she lived). And, on other ships, worse accidents have happened – prompting safety stand-downs throughout the Navy to address them.

Watchful of the ship. Watchful of your shipmates. Watch for yourself.

Continued in Part 8 - Getting Your Eyes Fixed. Each of the services offer limited laser eye surgery for selected military members. Patrick was selected as one of the lucky few, and shares his experience.