During a small boat operation, a boatman held the master link, trying to hook the link in the Daughter Craft hook. While doing this, his left index finger got caught between the master link and the lifting wire thimble, resulting in injury to the finger.
The incident
The incident occurred while the vessel was recovering the Daughter Craft after a man overboard exercise. The boatman was holding of the master link, and as he hooked the link into the Daughter Craft hook, his left index finger became caught between the master link and the lifting wire thimble, resulting in injury to the finger.
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Probable cause
The recovery operation of a rescue craft is a high-risk task and full cooperation of all involved is crucial to complete the operation without any incidents. The investigation of the incident established that:
- The lifting wire’s thimble diameter allowed the thimble to move all around the master Link and could move close to someone’s fingers increasing the likelihood of them being trapped;
- The procedure and risk assessment used for the task were not enough;
- Established previous practic may have contributed to the incident.
Lessons learned
- Investigate provision of master links that could provide a better protection to the boatmen’s hands and fingers during inserting of the master link into the rescue craft hook, by preventing the wire’s thimble from free movement;
- Review and amend as appropriate, task risk assessments and specific procedures for operation of rescue craft.
