During recovery of a rescue boat of a Hong Kong registered ship, the hoisting wire rope parted and resulted in the rescue boat falling into the water. One crewmember died and two others injured.
The Accident
A rescue boat accident happened when the crewmembers on board a Hong Kong registered chemical tanker were recovering a rescue boat from the water using the launch and retrieval davit.
The rescue boat was lowered into the water and hoisted again several times by three crewmembers inside the boat. On the last occasion that the davit was retracted, the wire rope of the davit system parted suddenly when the rescue boat was hoisted to the deck level. As a result, the rescue boat fell into the water. Two of them were seriously injured and another died in the incident.
Investigation into the accident revealed the following contributory factors leading to the accident:
- Unauthorized servicing personnel were employed for the latest annual service and notable defects were omitted during mandatory service and examination;
- Undersize wire rope was used and failed to meet the design value;
- The wire rope was seriously corroded and covered up by thick grease and such defects were difficult to be discovered;
- Limit switch of the davit system was defective rendering undue stress acting on the wire rope; and
- Wire rope and hook attachment were not correctly assembled. The hook could not be rested at off-load position and therefore it caused the damage to the wire rope earlier.
Lessons learnt
It is important that the company and the master should ensure servicing and maintenance of launching appliance and release gear of lifeboat/rescue boat should be in accordance with SOLAS regulation III/20, in particular:
- Servicing personnel should be authorized and competent to service;
- Replaced wire rope should be of correct size and sufficient strength;
- Wire rope should be inspected periodically and renewed when necessary due to deterioration;
- Maintenance and inspection of davit and its components should carried out in accordance with instructions for on-board maintenance to ensure their reliability; and
- Wire rope and hook attachment should be assembled and rigged in accordance with the manufacturer’s specifications
Source: Hong Kong Marine Department