Offshore Survival Course

Lesson 1 • Structure of Offshore Operations

Covers types of offshore installations, organisational hierarchies, and crew roles. Provides context for all subsequent safety training by grounding students in the operational environment.

Lesson 2 • Hazard Identification and Risk Assessment

Teaches systematic identification of physical, chemical, and environmental hazards. Students apply risk-ranking tools to prioritise controls before beginning any offshore task.

Lesson 3 • Regulatory Framework and Safety Standards

Introduces international maritime and offshore safety conventions and operator safety management systems. Students understand compliance obligations and the consequences of non-compliance.

Lesson 1 • Survival Swimming and Rescue Signals

Develops efficient swimming techniques in full PPE and methods for attracting rescuers. Skills connect directly to increasing survival time until rescue assets arrive.

Lesson 2 • Controlled and Emergency Water Entry

Teaches safe methods for entering the sea from various heights and vessel types. Students practice HELP and huddle positions to reduce heat loss after water entry.

Lesson 3 • Personal Flotation Devices

Covers types, buoyancy ratings, and donning procedures for offshore lifejackets and immersion suits. Students practice rapid donning to meet international time standards.

Lesson 1 • Life Raft Deployment and Management

Covers inflation, boarding, and internal management of offshore life rafts. Students practice righting an inverted raft and managing survivors inside.

Lesson 2 • Immersion Suit Donning and Use

Covers immersion suit types, thermal protection ratings, and correct donning sequence. Students achieve full donning within the internationally required time limit.

Lesson 3 • Lifeboat Launching and Manoeuvring

Teaches the step-by-step launch sequence and basic boat-handling skills after water entry. Students practice moving clear of the installation and managing engine controls.

Lesson 4 • Lifeboat Types and Pre-Launch Checks

Introduces totally enclosed, free-fall, and open lifeboats and their launching systems. Students conduct pre-launch inspections and identify equipment stowage locations.

Lesson 1 • Portable Firefighting Equipment

Teaches selection, inspection, and operation of portable extinguishers and hose reels. Students match extinguisher agent to fire class and demonstrate correct attack technique.

Lesson 2 • Fire Science and Offshore Ignition Sources

Explains combustion chemistry, fire classes, and ignition sources specific to offshore environments. Understanding fire behaviour enables students to select the correct suppression agent.

Lesson 3 • Breathing Apparatus Operations

Covers donning, pre-use checks, and operational limits of self-contained breathing apparatus. Students practise entry into smoke-filled spaces and emergency buddy-breathing procedures.

Lesson 4 • Team Firefighting Attack Strategies

Applies fire science and equipment skills to coordinated team attack and search operations. Students execute entry team, backup team, and boundary cooling roles.

Lesson 1 • Underwater Egress Techniques

Teaches the systematic window-exit procedure for escaping an inverted submerged helicopter. Students practise breath-holding, door/window operation, and exit sequencing.

Lesson 2 • Helicopter Operations and Passenger Safety

Covers pre-flight briefings, deck landing procedures, and passenger conduct during offshore helicopter flights. Students identify hazards on the helideck and during boarding.

Lesson 3 • Helicopter Ditching Scenarios

Examines the phases of a helicopter ditching and the forces acting on occupants. Students understand capsize dynamics and the disorientation experienced during inversion.

Lesson 1 • Casualty Packaging and MEDEVAC Preparation

Teaches immobilisation, documentation, and handover procedures for medical evacuation by helicopter or vessel. Students complete a SBAR handover report for a simulated casualty.

Lesson 2 • Primary Survey and Casualty Assessment

Teaches the DRABC primary survey and rapid casualty assessment sequence. Students identify life-threatening conditions and prioritise interventions in the correct order.

Lesson 3 • Trauma and Wound Management

Addresses wound classification, bleeding control, and fracture immobilisation for offshore trauma. Students apply tourniquets, pressure dressings, and improvised splints.

Lesson 4 • CPR and Automated Defibrillation

Covers adult CPR technique, compression-to-ventilation ratios, and AED operation. Students practise on manikins to achieve correct depth, rate, and hand placement.

Lesson 1 • Offshore Hazardous Gas Profiles

Identifies the properties, sources, and health effects of gases commonly encountered offshore. Students use gas properties to predict behaviour and select appropriate detection methods.

Lesson 2 • Portable Gas Detector Operation

Covers bump testing, calibration, and correct sampling technique for multi-gas detectors. Students interpret alarm levels and take appropriate action for each alarm threshold.

Lesson 3 • Confined Space Entry and Rescue

Applies gas detection skills to confined-space entry permits, atmospheric testing, and non-entry rescue. Students execute a simulated confined-space rescue using tripod and retrieval line.

Lesson 1 • Muster, Headcount, and Accountability

Teaches muster station procedures, headcount methods, and missing-person protocols. Students practise accountability reporting under time pressure with incomplete information.

Lesson 2 • Abandon-Ship Decision and Execution

Covers the criteria for ordering abandon ship and the sequence of actions from alarm to water entry. Students execute a timed abandon-ship drill in full immersion suit and lifejacket.

Lesson 3 • Emergency Response Plan Structure

Covers the components of an offshore emergency response plan and the roles within the emergency command structure. Students map their own role to the plan's escalation tiers.

Lesson 4 • Multi-Scenario Drill Execution

Applies all emergency skills in combined fire, gas, and abandon-ship tabletop and practical drills. Students rotate through command, response, and observer roles to build full competency.