The Last Man Off By Matt Lewis

In the book, The Last Man Off, Matt Lewis tells of his story of a ship wreck in the freezing Antarctic seas. Lewis had recently graduated from college and was pursuing his dream of being a scientific observer. He received his first job from a fishing company in South Africa who would be fishing south of the island, South Georgia. While out at seas, the boat experiences several mechanical problems during a storm and the crew has to abandon ship. Seventeen crewmembers perished before being rescued by another fishing ship close by, the Isla Camila. While Lewis is telling his journey, he points out key points that could be a direct cause to the sinking of the ship. These key points include lack of safety gear and drills, inadequate water pumps, …show more content…
Without this certificate of safety the ships are not allowed to set sail. The inspection covers the sea worthiness of the ship, all equipment, safety equipment, emergency procedures, and life-saving gear. All machinery on the ship must be in good working condition and dependable at all times. All safety equipment must be certified by the South African Maritime Safety Authority, and each person on board the ship must have their own life jacket. Every emergency life raft is required to be tested and evaluated. If a boat does not passed inspection, they are supposed to be reported to the government agency in charge of ships for that particular country. Then the boat should be repaired or gather materials missing and be reevaluated before being allowed to set sail. In “The Legal Regulations of Ship Safety,” Grndinic claims, “the flag state shall exercise jurisdiction and control over their ships,” but at the international level, “there is no uniformity in compliance with the procedures” (39). In other words, if a ship flies a South African flag then that ship must follow South Africa’s rules and regulations in international waters. Although the laws of the Torremolinos Protocol were created in 1993, they were never enforced until they were reviewed at the Cape Town Agreement of 2012. Lewis discusses the issues of the water pumps and the modified door on the factory room. According to Lewis’ descriptions of the replacement pumps being half size and the factory door not being watertight, the boat should not have passed inspection right then. But Lewis continues telling of other safety concerns he experiences also. He tells of the lack of safety procedures and life jackets that were locked away. In order to pass the Torremolinos inspection, a boat must be able to provide emergency procedures and life jackets must be able to be easily accessed by everyone on board