Plan a shoot
Marine services guide

Rescue boats for work over water

Bridge works, pier and jetty repairs, river walls and scaffolding over the water all carry a risk of someone going in. Here is what the law asks for, and what a rescue boat on site actually needs.

By the Cinecraft team: skippers and drone pilotsFacts checked 26 Oct 20264 min read

Ask about cover
Call 020 3039 3931

At a glance

  • CDM 2015 regulation 26 says that where anyone doing construction work could fall into water and drown, you must prevent the fall, reduce the risk of drowning, and have suitable rescue equipment ready so they can be rescued promptly.
  • HSE guidance names a rescue boat with a competent operator as one way to do it, alongside barriers, lifejackets and throw lines.
  • On a river or in a dock, prompt rescue usually means a crewed boat on station for as long as anyone is at risk.
  • The boat, the crew and the rescue plan belong in your RAMS.

What regulation 26 says

Regulation 26 of the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015 is headed “Prevention of drowning”. Where someone doing construction work is at risk of falling into water or another liquid with a risk of drowning, there must be suitable and sufficient steps to:

  • prevent the fall, so far as is reasonably practicable
  • minimise the risk of drowning if someone does fall
  • provide suitable rescue equipment, maintained and used when needed, so that anyone who falls in can be rescued promptly

It also covers getting people to and from the work by water: the transport must be safe, and the boat must not be overcrowded or overloaded.

What HSE guidance adds

HSE’s guidance on preventing drowning works in layers: stop the fall with barriers, give people a way to raise the alarm, keep them afloat with lifejackets (ideally auto-inflating, always worn, and with training in their use), then get them out with grab lines, throw lines or a boat.

On the boat it is specific. A rescue boat with a competent operator should make it easy to pull a casualty from the water, should suit the work, the water and the currents, and may need more than one person aboard so it can be handled while the rescue happens. HSE also sets out why people drown after a fall: the shock of cold water, the weight of wet clothing, injury from hitting something on the way in, and fatigue or hypothermia when rescue is slow.

When a rescue boat is the answer

On flowing or tidal water a throw line only reaches so far, and the current carries a person away from the work fast. That is why river and dock sites usually put a crewed boat on station: bridge and pier works, river wall repairs, jetty and pontoon work, scaffolding or abseiling over the water, and work from barges and pontoons.

The risk assessment decides it, not a rule of thumb. The questions are how far someone could fall, how fast the water moves, how cold it is, how quickly a boat can reach them and where it can land them.

What the boat and crew need

  • A boat that suits the water and the work, low enough to get a casualty over the side
  • A competent skipper, and a second crew member when the boat has to be handled during the rescue
  • On the tidal Thames, a PLA-licensed or MCA-coded boat with a skipper qualified under the PLA byelaws
  • Radio contact with the site team, and on the tidal Thames with London VTS
  • First aid, and a way to keep a casualty warm until they are handed over
  • A rescue plan that says where the boat sits, how the alarm is raised and where a casualty comes ashore

How cover runs on site

The boat is on station whenever someone is at risk, and stands down only when everyone is back behind the barriers. The crew briefs with the site team at the start of each shift, works to the permit system, and runs rescue drills so the plan is tested before it is needed. On long jobs the crew rotates so the boat is never left unmanned.

Not in those words. Regulation 26 asks for suitable rescue equipment so that someone can be rescued promptly. Your risk assessment decides whether that means a boat, and on most river and dock sites it does.
As long as the work does. We cover single days, weeks, and the length of a contract.
Yes. Our RIBs travel by road, so we cover rivers, docks, lakes and the coast across the UK.

Sources

Need safety cover?Tell us about the event or the site. We reply within the hour, 8am to 8pm, 7 days.

Ask about cover

or call 020 3039 3931

Marine services

Read next

Safety boat hire for events and works
Rescue cover for contractors
Safety cover for an event on the Thames
Marine services
Marine services enquiry

Tell us about the job

Safety cover for an event, rescue cover for works on the water, a skipper or crew, or a delivery. We reply within the hour, 8am to 8pm, 7 days, and quote the same day for most jobs.
Or call or WhatsApp 020 3039 3931