The Marine Safety Forum (MSF) draws lessons learned from an incident where a missed hazard during pre-lift checks in the North Sea led to significant corrosion on a tie-back handle mount, posing a potential dropped object risk.
What happened
During routine lifting operations in the North Sea, a container was hoisted from the vessel’s main deck to the installation cargo deck. Upon landing, the bosun noticed significant corrosion on a tie-back handle mount, which caused the tie-back to loosen. This could have resulted in a dropped object hazard.
Cause
An opportunity to identify the hazard was missed during pre-lift checks at quayside. It’s possible the checks were ineffectively carried out or the corrosion was not identified as excessive. Furthermore, the corrosion on the tie-back wasn’t recognized as an immediate safety concern by the vessel deck crew.
Lessons learned
While some corrosion is expected in harsh seagoing conditions, it’s crucial to have a thorough and systematic approach to safety checks. Identifying potential hazards before they become critical is key to preventing dropped objects. Moving forward, we must stay vigilant in inspecting for hazards and ensure all identified risks are communicated clearly to everyone involved in the lift. This event highlights the importance of a ‘clear deck and hands free’ policy to protect vessel crew and lifting parties from dropped object hazards.
