In its latest safety flash, IMCA describes an incident where a failure of a “Chinese Finger” took place.
The incident
During a reeving operation of the forward crane auxiliary hoist, there was a failure of a “Chinese Finger” between the messenger wire and auxiliary hoist wire.
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About 6m before reaching the trolley sheave, the Chinese Finger broke, resulting in the auxiliary hoist wire falling down into the cargo hold. The messenger wire fell on the main deck below the crane trolley.
Probable cause
- The Chinese Finger parted due to direct contact between the sharp edge of the Auxiliary Hoist Wire and the Chinese Finger itself;
- The Chinese Finger could not withstand the applied tension endured during the reeving works;
- The point of contact between the Auxiliary hoist wire and Chinese Finger was too sharp resulting in a point load;
- The Auxiliary hoist dead-end was not tapered and by this created a sharp edge at the extreme end of the wire;
- There was a lack of awareness of this aspect of the use of the Chinese Finger.
