Professional Diploma in Life-Saving, Ship Abandonment and Marine Salvage
This professional diploma covers everything that happens when a ship and the people on board are in danger: the life-saving appliances required by SOLAS and the LSA Code, marine evacuation systems and abandon-ship procedures, survival at sea, search and rescue with aircraft and rescue boats, and the salvage engineering used to control flooding, refloat stranded ships, fight complex fires and remove wrecks, preparing you to plan and lead evacuation and salvage operations.
Prior knowledge check
These are the skills this program gives you. Tick the ones you already master and we will tell you which part of the syllabus is for you.
You are starting from scratch in this subject. The program is designed precisely for that.
What is the Professional Diploma in Life-Saving, Ship Abandonment and Marine Salvage?
This professional diploma trains you to protect lives and save ships from the moment an emergency is declared to the removal of the wreck. You will study SOLAS Chapter III and the LSA Code, the 1989 Salvage Convention and Lloyd's Open Form, the SAR Convention and rescue coordination centers, incident command on board, lifejackets, immersion suits, liferafts, hydrostatic release units, fast rescue boats and free-fall lifeboats, davits and on-load release hooks, marine evacuation systems, muster lists and crowd management, cold shock and hypothermia, survival craft routines, the IAMSAR Manual and search patterns, EPIRBs and SARTs, helicopter MEDEVAC, damaged stability, shoring and plugging, refloating, lightering and parbuckling, fires with dangerous goods, places of refuge and the Nairobi Wreck Removal Convention.
What sets this professional diploma apart: it joins two worlds that are usually taught separately, the life-saving side, focused on equipment, abandonment and survival, and the salvage engineering side, focused on keeping a damaged ship afloat or recovering it; it goes into the technical detail of each appliance, from release hooks to free-fall launch angles; it treats survival physiology and psychology as seriously as hardware; it covers the contractual and insurance framework of salvage; and it ends with a final project in which you write a complete evacuation and salvage plan for a high-risk ship or solve a complex refloating case.
Program highlights
- Regulatory framework: SOLAS Chapter III, the LSA Code, the Salvage Convention, LOF, the SAR Convention and ICS.
- Life-saving appliances: lifejackets, immersion suits, liferafts, rescue boats, free-fall lifeboats, davits and hooks.
- Abandonment and survival: marine evacuation systems, muster lists, crowd control, hypothermia and survival craft routines.
- Search and rescue: IAMSAR, search patterns, OSC and CSS roles, EPIRBs and SARTs, helicopter MEDEVAC and drones.
- Salvage engineering: flooding control, damaged stability, refloating, lightering, parbuckling and emergency towing.
- Final project: an evacuation and salvage plan for a high-risk ship or a complex refloating case study.
Syllabus of the Professional Diploma in Life-Saving, Ship Abandonment and Marine Salvage
8 modules. Select a module to see its content.
Regulatory framework, international conventions and emergency management
- 1.1. The SOLAS Convention (Chapter III: life-saving appliances and arrangements) and the International Life-Saving Appliance (LSA) Code
- 1.2. The legal framework of salvage: the 1989 International Convention on Salvage and Lloyd's Open Form (LOF) contracts
- 1.3. The SAR Convention 1979 and the global organization of rescue coordination centers (MRCC/RCC)
- 1.4. Responsibilities of the master, the classification society, the maritime authority and salvors
- 1.5. Planning and managing emergencies on board: the incident command system (ICS) adapted to the naval environment
- 1.6. Operational risk assessment in a crisis: decision-making under pressure and preliminary damage assessment
- 1.7. Civil liability, insurance aspects (P&I clubs, H&M) and declaration of general average in salvage operations
- 1.8. The LSA Code and SOLAS requirements
Personal and collective life-saving appliances
- 2.1. Lifejackets, immersion suits, thermal protective aids (TPAs) and lifebuoys: technical specifications and maintenance
- 2.2. Inflatable liferafts: hydrostatic release units (HRUs), lashing, inflation systems and interior equipment
- 2.3. Fast rescue boats (FRBs) and totally enclosed lifeboats: marinised engines, self-contained air support and water sprinkler systems
- 2.4. Free-fall lifeboats: impact hydrodynamics, launch angles and structural safety
- 2.5. Launching appliances: gravity davits, pivot davits and on-load and off-load release hooks
- 2.6. Periodic inspections, load tests and maintenance of life-saving appliances under IMO circular MSC.1/Circ.1206
- 2.7. Pyrotechnic distress signals, parachute rockets, smoke signals and line-throwing appliances
- 2.8. Inspection of liferafts and lifejackets
Marine evacuation systems (MES) and abandoning ship
- 3.1. Architecture and classification of marine evacuation systems: slides and vertical chutes
- 3.2. Rapid deployment of MES on large passenger ships and ro-ro vessels
- 3.3. Abandon-ship tactics: muster list duties, crowd control and panic management in emergencies
- 3.4. Evacuating persons with reduced mobility and inclusive rescue protocols on board
- 3.5. Simulating marine evacuation times with computer models and analysis of people flow
- 3.6. Organizing abandon-ship drills, practical exercises and evaluating crew performance
- 3.7. Techniques for jumping into the water from height, boarding survival craft and grouping liferafts
- 3.8. Maintenance of MES
Sea survival techniques and physiological factors
- 4.1. The physiology of sea survival: cold water shock, hypothermia and the diving reflex
- 4.2. Circum-rescue collapse and the care of survivors in critical condition
- 4.3. Rationing drinking water and food and using manual desalinators in survival craft
- 4.4. Survival psychology: leadership, maintaining morale, isolation and combating mental exhaustion
- 4.5. First aid in liferafts: treating burns, marine stings, dehydration and seasickness
- 4.6. Individual and group flotation techniques (HELP position and huddle)
- 4.7. Keeping liferafts and lifeboats seaworthy and bailing in heavy seas
- 4.8. Survival in cold climates
Search and rescue (SAR) operations and the air interface
- 5.1. Applying the International Aeronautical and Maritime Search and Rescue (IAMSAR) Manual, Volumes I, II and III
- 5.2. Search patterns at sea: track line, expanding square, sector and coordinated ship-aircraft searches
- 5.3. On-scene coordinator (OSC) and coordinator surface search (CSS): duties and communications
- 5.4. Emergency communications in GMDSS: activating and tracking EPIRBs, radar SARTs and AIS-SARTs
- 5.5. Helicopter medical evacuation (MEDEVAC): pickup areas, helidecks and static discharge safety
- 5.6. Using rescue boats to recover survivors from the water and hoist stretchers
- 5.7. Marine drones (UAV/USV) and thermal night vision (FLIR) for locating people in the water
- 5.8. Helicopter rescue
Marine salvage engineering, groundings and damage control
- 6.1. Responding to flooding: plugging, shoring, fitting patches and emergency pumping
- 6.2. Assessing the stability of the damaged ship: asymmetric flooding, righting moment and reserve buoyancy
- 6.3. Refloating stranded ships: ground reaction calculations, lightening cargo and fuel and pulling with tugs
- 6.4. Pulling engineering and salvage gear: calculating pulls, wire ropes, purchases and ground tackle
- 6.5. Underwater sealing of tanks and transfer of oil or noxious substances from casualties (lightering)
- 6.6. Salvaging capsized or partly sunk ships: parbuckling and the use of lifting bags and pontoons
- 6.7. Underwater cutting and welding in emergency work on the hull
- 6.8. Emergency towing
Complex fires, dangerous goods and places of refuge
- 7.1. Controlling and fighting major fires on board (holds, cargo tanks and vehicle decks)
- 7.2. Assessing the ship's stability when firefighting water accumulates on upper decks
- 7.3. Responding to emergencies with dangerous goods (IMDG Code) and the Medical First Aid Guide (MFAG)
- 7.4. Responding to leaks of liquefied gases (LNG/LPG) or alternative fuels (ammonia, methanol) during a casualty
- 7.5. Environmental impact assessment and contingency plans for oil spill containment (SOPEP)
- 7.6. Designating places of refuge: regulatory aspects, ecological risk assessment and negotiation with coastal states
- 7.7. Managing bioterrorism, piracy and hostage rescue in maritime hijacking
- 7.8. Firefighting with dangerous goods
Complex simulations, crisis management and final project
- 8.1. Advanced exercises in full mission maneuvering and salvage simulators for decision-making
- 8.2. Corporate crisis communication: dealing with the media, crew families, owners and insurers
- 8.3. Wreck removal: the Nairobi Convention 2007, dismantling techniques and final disposal
- 8.4. Emergency preparedness audits and verification of the shipping company's response capability
- 8.5. Post-incident debriefing, lessons learned and integration of improvements into the safety management system
- 8.6. Evidence preservation protocols and subsequent investigation of the causes of the casualty
- 8.7. Presentation of the final project
- 8.8. Final project: a comprehensive evacuation and marine salvage plan for a high-risk ship or a complex refloating case study
Duration and format of the Professional Diploma in Life-Saving, Ship Abandonment and Marine Salvage
It is 800 hours. Tell us how many you can study each week and we will tell you when you will really finish.
This is the pace at which most students finish. It fits well with the installment plan.
Academic leadership and faculty
The Navalis teaching team: working professionals who teach and supervise the programs.
Dr. Marina AlcoverAcademic Director and Head of Quality Assurance
Eng. Diego CifuentesSenior Lecturer in Naval Welding and Non-Destructive Testing; Head of QA/QC for Welded Joints
Capt. Javier Abaroa (MCA)Senior Lecturer in Ship Handling, Electronic Navigation (ECDIS/Radar/ARPA) and GMDSS; STCW Compliance and Bridge Resource Management Coordinator
Dr. Pau FerrerSenior Lecturer in Naval Architecture and Simulation; Director of the Hydrodynamics and CFD Laboratory
Dr. Nuria LlobregatSenior Lecturer in Marine Meteorology, SAR and Operational Safety; Navigation Risk Management Coordinator
Eng. Javier BañulsSenior Lecturer in Electrical Engineering, Automation and ETO Engineering; Electronic Integration and Engine Alarms Coordinator
Eng. Sofía MarquinaSenior Lecturer in Materials, Composites and Corrosion Protection; Coordinator of the Advanced Paints and Coatings Line
Eng. Tomás RieraSenior Lecturer in Propulsion, Alternative Energy and Hybrid Systems; Energy Performance and Vibration CoordinatorObjectives of the Professional Diploma in Life-Saving, Ship Abandonment and Marine Salvage
Career opportunities after the Professional Diploma in Life-Saving, Ship Abandonment and Marine Salvage
Questions about the Professional Diploma in Life-Saving, Ship Abandonment and Marine Salvage
To give you the knowledge to plan and lead the protection of life and property when a ship is in danger, from life-saving appliances, abandonment and survival to search and rescue and the salvage of the ship itself.
It covers first aid in survival craft, the care of hypothermic and critical survivors and medical evacuation by helicopter, but its main focus is evacuation, rescue and salvage. A dedicated first aid program is the right choice if medical care is your priority.
That program concentrates on evacuation planning, passenger management and drill design. This one goes deeper into the technical side of life-saving appliances and adds sea survival, SAR and salvage engineering such as refloating and damage control.
No. Navalis teaches the subject matter in depth; STCW certificates such as proficiency in survival craft are issued by the competent maritime administration after approved practical training.
SOLAS Chapter III, the LSA Code, MSC.1/Circ.1206 on maintenance, the SAR Convention and IAMSAR Manual, the 1989 Salvage Convention and LOF, the IMDG Code and the Nairobi Wreck Removal Convention.
Yes. You will work through damaged stability, ground reaction, pulling forces, lightering, parbuckling and emergency towing, the core calculations used by salvors.
Through practical cases and simulated scenarios in each module and through the final project, in which you write an evacuation and salvage plan or solve a refloating case.
A Navalis Institute professional diploma and a complete evacuation and salvage plan from your final project.
More programs in Safety and survival
Admission process
No waiting for a call back. If your documents are in order, you can enroll in the same session.
- Profile: aimed at seafarers and ship's officers, health professionals, firefighters and rescuers, emergency managers and safety coordinators, staff of high-risk companies and members of humanitarian organizations; a qualification or proven experience in emergency services, civil protection, fire services, rescue or work at sea is recommended, and prior first aid and basic life support training is an advantage.
- Language: sufficient command of English to follow the classes and the technical documentation.
- Technical resources: a computer with a stable internet connection to follow live and recorded classes and use the virtual campus.
- Admission: online application, review of your profile and a short interview with the academic team.
- 01ApplicationYour details, background and documents.
- 02Instant reviewWe check that everything is complete and in order.
- 03EnrollmentChoose full payment or instalments and reserve your place.
Admission is provisional until the committee validates the documents provided. If you do not meet the requirements, the full amount is refunded.
Ask us before you enroll
Leave your details and admissions will write to you to answer any questions. If you are already sure, you can apply and pay in the same session.