You never know what you might find during a safety survey. We recently conducted a safety survey aboard a submarine and discovered the crew was wearing unauthorized, commercial, marine-exposure suits while topside in cold weather.
The dangers of using this unauthorized equipment had become apparent when a research submarine suffered a structural casualty and flooding resulting in the crew abandoning her when damage-control efforts failed (the submarine was saved and towed to port for repairs). Sailors who had donned the commercial exposure suits reported that, after being in the water for a while, they had difficulty staying afloat, despite wearing a kapok life jacket over ...