200030 Life Lines

Life Lines
Report No. 200030

This is to report one near miss and I have some questions which arise from it. During a routine lifeboat drill at anchorage an officer slipped when he was attempting to board a lifeboat which was lowered to the embarkation deck. He was holding on to the life line, so did not get injured.

However, the incident made me think about the following questions:

1. In an open life boat the life line gives support in an emergency right to the moment the boat takes to water. If the falls part, or some other mishap occurs, the boat crew can hang on to the life line. Isn't that the purpose of the life line? What would happen in an enclosed life boat? In what way are it's falls better than those of an open boat? The crew is totally at the mercy of the falls.
2. If that officer had fallen in the very cold water he could have died of hypothermia. Why are only rescue / open boat crews "entitled " to have immersion suits and not crews of other boats?
3. What would a boat crew do to clear a fouled propeller of an enclosed lifeboat?
4. If it is necessary to pick up a survivor from cold water, a rescuer may have to get into the water, whether it is a rescue boat or not. Is he expected to risk his life to hypothermia in the process or abandon his fellow and save himself?

There may be some obvious answers to these questions which I am overlooking; will anybody please advise?