Fuck this industry it's a huge waste of time! This industry is the most stressful awful job I've ever done! There is no good jobs on ships and the pay is loooooow! This industry has sucked my soul away!
During a SIRE 2.0 inspection, an experienced officer with a full beard was asked to demonstrate a breathing-apparatus seal check. He knew the procedure, but the mask would not seal. Our explanation was that he wasn’t assigned to either fire team. The designated firefighters were trained and ready. At the time, I accepted that answer.
What I keep coming back to is what happens after those arrangements are stretched. If the nominated men are exhausted, injured or already committed, someone else may be needed. On a small crew, there are only so many people to call upon.
Most seafarers would say they have been trained to use breathing apparatus. Fair enough. But has anyone checked whether the actual mask onboard fits each person who might need to wear it? Being clean-shaven doesn’t settle that question either.
I wrote about this from my own experience
https://thedeepdraft.com/2026/10/05/beards-scba-face-seal-merchant-ships/
How does your company handle this? Is there a clear facial-hair policy and individual fit testing, or is the decision largely left to the ship? Has an inspector ever asked you to demonstrate the seal?