BSU has issued the investigation report of a fatal accident due to a rescue boat on the MTM WESTPORT which fell from height during a boat manoeuvre on the Outer Elbe roadstead on November 21, 2014.
The Incident
At about 0830 on November 2014, the Hong Kong-flagged tanker MTM WESTPORT was laid up at anchor in the Outer Elbe roadstead waiting for a berth in the port of Hamburg. It was intended that the time spent waiting be used for boat manoeuvres. Situated on the starboard side of the superstructure, the rescue boat was lowered into the water and hoisted again several times with three crew members. On the last occasion that the davit was retracted, at about 0912, the wire rope parted and the boat fell back into the water. Two of the three crew members were recovered with serious injuries and taken to hospital. The third crew member succumbed to his injuries at the scene of the accident.
BSU investigation has revealed that an undersided wire rope was used, which over the course of time had already corroded. Furthermore, the damaged limit switches had been bypassed, enabling additional forces to act on the entire system.
Further details may be found by reading the BSU’s investigation report
Source & Image Credit: BSU
How did P.S.C. {Port State Control} miss all these discrepancies, that too, in SAFETY EQUIPMENT ???