A liferaft has a small puncture causing slow air loss from one buoyancy chamber. What is the correct response?

A. A punctured liferaft cannot be repaired at sea and must be abandoned immediately in favour of swimming

B. Ignore small punctures entirely, since liferafts are designed to remain fully inflated indefinitely regardless of damage

C. Use the repair kit's clamps or patches included specifically for this purpose, locate and seal the leak as quickly as practical, and use the hand pump (also typically included) to top up pressure in the affected chamber — most SOLAS rafts have multiple independent buoyancy chambers, so a single puncture is serious but not usually immediately catastrophic

D. Repair kits are not included in SOLAS-approved liferafts and punctures cannot be addressed without external assistance

A. The HRU is simply a decorative bracket with no functional release mechanism

B. The HRU only operates if manually armed by an officer before each voyage

C. The HRU automatically releases the liferaft from its cradle if the vessel sinks to a set depth (typically around 4 metres), allowing the raft to float free and inflate even if no one has manually launched it — a critical backup if the crew cannot reach the raft in time

D. The HRU prevents the liferaft from ever being launched manually, for safety reasons

A. Throw the raft container into the water first, then worry about the painter line afterwards if there is time

B. The painter line should be cut immediately after the raft inflates, to allow it to drift freely

C. Check the area below is clear, secure the painter line to a strong point on the vessel before releasing the raft, throw or lower the raft container into the water, then pull the painter line firmly to inflate it — never let go of the painter line until the raft is confirmed inflated and the line is needed to bring the raft alongside

D. Inflate the raft while it is still in its container on deck, then carry the inflated raft to the side