The sailing yacht CV30 was participating in the third leg of the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race, after having left Cape Town on 31 October 2017 bound for Fremantle, Western Australia, when a crewmember fell overboard.
The incident
On 18 November 2017, the ship was approximately 1500nm from Fremantle, when a crewmember fell overboard.
The crewmember was attached to the yacht by his safety harness tether, with the hook at the end of the tether that was clipped to a jack-line.
The hook was deformed and released, causing him to fall from the yacht.
The crewmember was recovered unconscious onto the yacht but sadly could not be resuscitated.
Probable cause
After an investigation was conducted about the accident, a safety issue that was identified was that the hook on the end of the tether was caught under a deck cleat, resulting in a lateral loading that was enough to cause the hook to distort and eventually release.
If the hook is loaded laterally it will deform at much less load. It is important, therefore, that tether hooks remain clear of obstructions and are free to rotate to align the load longitudinally.
Recommendations
In order to prevent the strength of a safety harness tether becoming compromised in-service due to lateral loading on the tether hook, the method used to anchor the end of the tether to the vessel should be arranged to ensure that the tether hook cannot become entangled with deck fittings or other equipment, UK MAIB notes.
You can see more information about the accident herebelow