MSC.1/Circ.1182/Rev.1 Annex, page 13

2. davits;
3. windlass, winches; and
4. purpose-built recovery devices, including manual-lifting devices.
5. 5  The following points should be borne in mind:
   1. Lifting devices should be rigged so that those recovered can be lifted clear of hazards and landed on deck in a safe area.
   2. If possible, lines led from windlass or winches should be rigged so that the casualty can be lifted above the deck edge.
   3. Control lines should be rigged to the lower end of the lift, so that swinging against the ship’s side can be limited.
   4. The lower end of the lift should be equipped with at least a rescue strop or a secure loop.
   5. A purpose-built or improvised rescue basket, or a purpose-built recovery device, is better than strops and loops.
   6.  People who have been in the water, the injured and the incapable, should be lifted in a horizontal or near-horizontal position if possible (for example, in a basket, or in two strops or loops; one under the arms, the other under the knees). This minimizes the risk of cardiac arrest.   However, if the survivor’s airway is under threat – as it may be when alongside, even in calm conditions, because of side-splash – recover by the quickest method possible.
   7. A crew member from the recovering ship, wearing personal protective equipment and a safety line, may be able to go down with the lift to assist those incapable of helping themselves into the strop, loop, basket or other device. Remember, however, that this should be planned
6. 6  The rescue basket mentioned above is a particularly useful recovery tool. It may be possible to improvise such a basket; but it is  recommended that a    purpose-built unit be carried on board.

10.7 The rescue basket usually takes the form of a metal frame with floats/fenders around its perimeter and the lifting hook made fast to the top of the frame, clear of people inside. The basket floats partially submerged, so that people can easily enter it or be pulled into it. The floats double as fenders during the lift, should the basket swing against the ship’s side. Some baskets are designed to fold for ease of stowage. The size of the basket, and how many people it can lift at once, largely depends on the ship’s lifting capability.

10.8 The control lines mentioned above – usually rigged fore and aft along the ship’s side, and tended during the lift to minimize swinging – may be supplemented by a line to the craft from which people are being recovered. This line serves two functions. It may be tended by those still aboard the craft as an additional means of controlling the hoist’s lateral movements. It also serves to maintain contact with the craft throughout, so that the hoist may be brought back more easily for the next lift.

The importance of the effect of Hypothermia and the link to cardiac arrest and other problems is highlighted once again on page15, 12.4 as follows.

12.4 Remember in particular the risks of hypothermia and of cardiac arrest induced by sudden transfer from the water. People who have been in the water, the injured and the incapable, should, if possible, be lifted and carried in a horizontal or near-horizontal position. Refer to appropriate guidance, including that contained in the IMO’s Pocket Guide to Cold Water Survival.