Key risks associated with freefall lifeboat sling arrangements

The Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) Maritime Administrator was recently notified of an incident involving the failure of a freefall lifeboat sling during lowering of the lifeboat to the water. The wire failed at a crimp while under load, causing the lifeboat to fall uncontrolled to the water.

While this incident did not result in any injuries, it highlights the need to maintain vigilance when inspecting and utilizing slings for the secondary means of launching and recovery of freefall lifeboats.

With this respect, RMI realized a review of other incidents involving the failure of slings in the past six months and identified the following similarities:

• Inadequate in-service inspection of slings by ship’s crew;
• Inadequate assessment of risks prior to conducting freefall lifeboat drills;
• Inadequate initial inspection of slings prior to being put into service;
• Inadequate assessment and selection of manufacturers and suppliers of slings; and
• Use of plastic encased wire.

Plastic casing of wire slings inhibits the proper inspection of slings and can conceal defects in the underlying wire rope.

In the same context, Tokyo MoU recently issued Safety Bulletin 01/20, warning that lifting slings encased in plastic sheathing on freefall lifeboats have been found to restrict visual inspection of the wire ropes enclosed within and furthermore, prevent routine maintenance and survey being effectively carried out.

Recommendations

RMI strongly recommends that owners and operators of RMI-registered ships review and, as necessary, revise the relevant procedures in their Safety Management and Preventive Maintenance Systems, considering this information.

The requirements of RMI Marine Notice 7-041-4, which provides an outline of essential procedural steps to safely carry out simulated launching drills of freefall lifeboats, should be reviewed.

Specifically, a typical simulated launching sequence requires to:

1. Check equipment and documentation to ensure that all components of the lifeboat and launching appliances are in good operational condition.
2. Ensure that the restraining device(s) provided by the manufacturer for simulated launching are installed and secure and that the free-fall release mechanism is fully and correctly engaged.
3. Establish and maintain good communication between the assigned operating crew and the responsible person.
4. Disengage lashings, gripes, etc. installed to secure the lifeboat for sea or for maintenance, except those required for simulated free-fall.
5. Participating crew board the lifeboat and fasten their seatbelts under the supervision of the responsible person.
6. All crew, except the assigned operating crew, disembark the lifeboat. The assigned operating crew fully prepares the lifeboat for free-fall launch and secures themselves in their seats for the release operation.
7. The assigned operating crew activates the release mechanism when instructed by the responsible person. Ensure that the release mechanism operates satisfactorily and the lifeboat travels down the ramp to the distance specified in the manufacturer’s instructions.
8. Recover the lifeboat to its stowed position, using the means provided by the manufacturer and ensure that the free-fall release mechanism is fully and correctly engaged.
9. Repeat procedures from 7 above, using the back-up release mechanism when applicable.
10. The assigned operating crew disembarks the lifeboat.
11. Ensure that the lifeboat is returned to its normal stowed condition. Remove any restraining and/or recovery devices used only for the simulated launch procedure.

Owners and operators are also encouraged to assess whether wire slings with plastic casings should be used.

See also:

• TSB investigation: Lifeboat release hook failure linked to poor SOLAS compliance
• Key points of the IMO SSE 7 outcome