There are reasons for having proper standing orders. [“What do ‘standing orders’ really mean?” ] Onboard all inspected vessels and per ISM polices and government-issued CFRs, the master is required to have standing orders made up, signed off by officers and crew, and posted.

Also, it just makes sense to have standing orders on any type of vessel, be it private yacht or commercial ship. This ensures that safety practices are followed at all times and everyone knows what is expected of them. I know this can be hard to enforce, but there should be a policy in place onboard any vessel that crew members must be back aboard on time and sober.

All crew members are part of the ship’s station bill and with yachts having such small crews, every crew member is responsible for important duties, be it part of the fire team, dealing with injured crew or sick guests, or just mustering passengers to their muster stations and ensuring all are accounted for with life jackets available, if needed.

Most of the time, a lot of emergency situations happen at night. If crew members go ashore and have too much to drink, they will not be able to perform their job posted on the station bill, much less be aware of smoke or fire. This jeopardizes other crew members and passengers by taking this crew member out of his/her position on the station bill.

Now other crew members have to go locate this person, wake him/her up and get them to a safe area. This could be life threatening for the crew members getting this person up and on deck, not to mention losing valuable time taking care of the emergency.

It was also mentioned that if a crew member did not show up on time for the last run back to the boat at anchor, they will just be left ashore on their own. [“Safety ashore is captain’s responsibility,” Page A1, February 2010] Unless the master of the vessel has an agreement with this crew member

not to be back for the evening, this crew member’s employment aboard the vessel should be terminated the following day. This person not coming back to the vessel jeopardizes the safety of the passengers, crew and boat by not being available to handle their part on the station bill. 

On boats I have worked on, we always make up Minimum Muster Bills. These are posted at the gangway or perhaps on the bridge. I keep mine at the gangway. The sole purpose for having a minimum muster bill is to ensure there are enough crew members  onboard at all time to handle any type of emergency.

I put ours in the gangway in a clear sleeve attached to a clipboard. Every time someone leaves the vessel, they cross their name off with a dry erase

marker. Upon their return, they wipe it off to show they are back onboard. Only so many crew members are permitted off in each department, thus giving each department the capabilities to handle any type of emergency. It also lets the master or the OOW know exactly who is onboard the vessel at all times. 

The bottom line is the safety of the passengers/crew and the vessel. Keeping track of all crew and having them available to handle any emergency at anytime of the day or night is of the utmost importance at all times.

All masters should have signed Standing Orders and Minimum Muster Bills posted onboard their vessels no matter how big or small the crew is. It gives direction while allowing the vessel to be manned properly at all times.