Crew should maintain records of inspections and test certificates
The London P&I Club has recently issued its Loss Prevention Publication StopLoss issue 59 including information on mainenance of wires and their records. The London P&I Club’s Inspection Programme has recently highlighted several instances of negative findings regarding the ship’s lifting equipment register.
Anyone procuring lifting equipment should ensure that they are buying genuine and properly certificated equipment as there are counterfeit products on the market. All ships’ lifting gear should be fully recorded in a register, and a system of condition inspection and testing implemented in accordance with statutory requirements.
For many ships, this is incorporated in the Planned Maintenance System and the crew maintains records of inspections and test certificates. The records enable the inspection status of any individual items of lifting equipment in use onboard to be checked. If the equipment is not properly inspected and tested at regular intervals, there is a risk that it may present a hazard to the safety of the crew, and a lack of records could deprive Owners of valuable evidence when dealing with claims.
For example, a recent case involved serious damage to an ISO container and its contents during cargo operations when the container was dropped from height due to a parted wire. Owners can argue that a wire parted due to the
stevedores’ mishandling, but they would need to show that the equipment had been maintained. If appropriate maintenance records are kept, Owners should be able to demonstrate that the failure of the wire was not due to their
omission. In the absence of such records, proving that the equipment was well maintained will prove challenging. Equally, records alone are not enough as non-destructive testing can easily demonstrate whether or not a lifting wire has been properly maintained.
According to UK MCA Marine Guidance Note for lifting operations and lifting equipment , all parts of lifting equipment and related equipment are kept in good repair and working order, regular preventative maintenance should be carried out . Maintenance should include regular examinations by a competent person. When there is any suspicion that any appliance or item of equipment may have been subjected to excessive loads, exceeding the Safe Working Load (SWL), or subjected to treatment likely to cause damage, it should be taken out of service until it can be subjected to a thorough examination by a competent person. Records and service history should be kept of equipment, of dates when and where it is brought into use, its safe working load, any repairs, modifications, tests and examinations carried out.
For more information, click to view London P&I Club’s Loss Prevention Publication StopLoss 59
Source: London P&I CLub/ StopLoss 59
