Safety and houserules
Safety Rules
Note: Please make sure that you are aware that you are traveling on board of a freighter. Traveling on a freighter is a lot different than traveling on a passenger ship. There are several rules to follow which will ensure your safety. Please read those rules carefully and follow them while you are on board. This will make your stay much more comfortable. Please take your time to make yourself at home on board.
Safety on board
Please do not wear clothes with loose parts (like fringes, straps, etc.) on board in order to avoid to get stuck.
Wearing a life jacket on board is always obligatory. As soon as you leave the wheelhouse or your cabin to go on deck you need to put on your life jacket. This life jacket will be handed to you on board at the beginning of your journey.
The floor on the deck might be slippery. Please be careful while walking on deck. The floor can be covered with water, ice or stains of oil and fat.
The side-deck is sort of a walkway along the sides of the ship. In order to “conquer” this narrow walkway safely there are railings (wires) on both sides of the walkway. On the side-deck itself are bitts and steps, wires and other tripping hazards which you are not familiar with. Please take good care of yourself during the first days on board.
When we enter a lock or a bridge you are not allowed to stay on the side-deck or its extended parts. Otherwise your will block the captain’s view via the mirrors directly or indirectly (rush hour). Furthermore during loading and unloading activities you are not allowed to stay on the side-deck, loading zone or in the rotary range of the crane. It is possible that some of the loading and unloading companies have additional rules according to wearing personal protective clothing. You can watch the loading and unloading activities safely from the wheelhouse.
During the mooring and unmooring at locks, quays, braking spots or close to other ships you are to meet the safety requirements. A tearing nylon cord is as dangerous as a bungee cord. Do not step on cords / ropes and wires which are in use.
The stairs on board are very steep. We recommend to go down the stairs backwards. Furthermore you should always hold on to the banister. Steel stairs might be slippery due to water, oil or fat.
You are not allowed to enter the engine room and other locked rooms alone. The captain makes sure that you will board safely. If you are not certain that you can board safely, please inform the captain immediately.
In case of calamities please inform someone at the wheelhouse and follow the instructions the captain will provide.
- Caution: the floor might be slippery.
- Beware of obstacles on deck which you are not familiar with (bitts / wires / protruding edges)
- Stairs might be steep / slippery.
- Please go down backwards.
- Beware of steps outside and inside.
Smoking on Board
Smoking is not allowed inside the ship. Sometimes it is even forbidden outside, e.g. at locks, harbors or if there are ships or installations with easily inflammable goods in the neighborhood. Please inform the captain when you are going outside in order to smoke or stretch your legs.
Working on Board
Due to our insurance policy you are not allowed to work on board. You are not allowed to assist with navigating the ship or operating coast related activities. Furthermore you are not allowed to assist with mooring / unmooring or standing close to this operation.
Example of a Side-Deck.
- walkway with drain holes
- foot railing
- bitt
- deck cleaning hose
- deck
- deck cleaning conduit/railing to hold on
- rain gutter for deck hatches
- booby hatch
- safety ropes
Sail with the wheelhouse up
The wheelhouse On the large ships can reach up to 10 meters in Hight (to overlook high loaded cargo like stacked containers). The wheelhouse is no longer reachable from the Ships interior (this entrance will be closed) but is reachable with a sliding stairway/bridge from the back deck . The higher the wheelhouse increases the steeper become these stairway/bridge. The stairs continue in every position tilt and horizontal.
To use this stairway/bridge you must have a good feeling of balance, be fit enough and have a stable pair of feet!. Enter this stairway/bridge always calm and use both armrests to hold you.
Please never doubt to ask a crew member to guide you if you have fear of heights or any other Question.
The height of the side deck above the waterline
The height of the side deck above the waterline can vary in height up to 3 meters at a empty or a fully loaded ship. If you are use the side deck on an empty ship you will walk 2 to 3 meters above the water line. A fall in the water is high and life-threatening, if you fall you can impossible get back on board. If the ship sails, the captain impossible can fast enough stop it to rescue you. A fully loaded cargo ship is much deeper in the water, the water can even flow up touch the side deck.
Never entrance without permission of the captain in the side deck, certainly not on a sailing ship.
House Rules
The ship you are traveling on is not only a ship but it is also the home of the captain and his family. Please respect during your stay that you will also enter the captain’s private sector. Do not leave your things lying around the ship and behave like you would want your guests to behave at your home.
Take off your shoes inside.
The first rule on board of a freighter is to take your shoes off before you enter the interior. Otherwise you might bring oil and fat, which is stuck under your shoes, inside.
While maneuvering or mooring and unmooring at rush hour the captain needs to focus completely on his actions. Sometimes he will ask you to stay quiet, for example when he needs to listen to a message from the marine radio service. Please do respect these moments. As soon as the captain is finished you can continue your conversation.
The stairs from the wheelhouse to the interior of most ships are made of varnished wood. These stairs might be very slippery especially when you are only wearing socks. These stairs are steeper than familiar ones and the steps might be shorter as well. Therefore we recommend to go down backwards and to always hold on to the banister.
After boarding you will be orally informed about the safety and on-board rules. Please keep those rules in mind and follow them while you are on board. Afterwards the captain will ask to fill in the passenger manifest (name, address, signature, ID-number) and to sign it. Based on this passenger manifest the captain can always check who is actually staying on board. Furthermore we ask you to fill in an emergency phone number in order to be able to contact someone at home in case of problems / calamities. By signing the passenger manifest you confirm that you have understood the safety and on-board rules and that you are aware of the risks which are involved by traveling on a freighter. Your personal data will not be forwarded to third parties. They will be deleted as soon as you have disembarked.
Please inform the second officer when you go on deck or to your cabin in order to avoid unnecessary search operations while you are simply taking a nap in your cabin.
Living on board of a ship is a daily routine for the captain and its crew. Most of the things, which are natural for them, will be quite new to you. Please take your time!
If you have any questions, do not hesitate to ask.
Consciously dealing with clean drinking water on board:
Drinking and shower water on board is floating, just like at home, from the tap. On board this is not unlimited. The water is stored in a large water tank in the ship. It must therefore be regularly fillid up from the quayside, with a hose. An on-board pump then creates pressure so its floating from the tap. In addition, the shower water has to be heated up. This also takes fuel and power Water and definitely hot water is also on board a valuable thing.
We ask you please don’t let the tap unnecessarily run and also to keep your shower time short.
Consciously dealing with electricity on board
The electricity on board is generated by the Engine or a generator and stored in batteries. Especially if the ship stops and the main Engine is turned off a generator make sure the batteries are maintained. This obviously costs fuel. An inverter then ensures that 220 volts is created so all electrical appliances, just like home, works. You can charge your phone, turn on lights and enjoy the radio, TV.
We ask you to deal with the electricity conscious aboard. To turn The radio, television and lights off when you leave your cabin.
Do you want to know more about the technology behind the power and water installation and technic on board, feel free to ask and we explain everything about the technic and we visit together the Engine room.
Travel socially and green minded
Our ships are navigating day and night to transport goods so that the journey of the passengers will not cause any additional environmental pollution. Furthermore a ship on the inland waterways can transport the load of 100 to 150 trucks without getting into traffic jams and with reducing CO2 emissions and fine particles. Compared with the freight traffic on the motorways, ships do not have to brake and therefore can keep their speed level up which means that they transport in the most efficient and fuel/economic way with the least emissions.
Most of our ships are the property of family businesses. By traveling a while on one of our modern ships on inland waterways you will contribute to maintain this special kind of transport on European inland waterways. These are all aspects which are worshipped a lot by our guests.
