The UK MAIB has issued latest Safety Digest to draw the attention to lessons learned from maritime accidents. One case refers to vessel detention due to lack of crew’s safety knowledge and training to conduct an abandon ship drill.
The port lifeboat was used for the drill, with six crew on board. It was lowered into the water
and was manoeuvred away from the vessel before being returned for retrieval. With some difficulty the boat’s crew managed to reset the lifeboat’s hook release gear and attached the davit wire suspension links to the hooks.
Fall preventer devices (FPD)1 were connected to the fore and aft hook assemblies
and the boat was recovered to deck level, where the crew disembarked before it was hoisted into its davit.
The crew then began to secure the lifeboat in its davit. Two crewmen entered the boat and a
third, the bosun, was on deck below the boat to position and secure the gripe wires. The bosun had instructed the men in the boat not to release the FPDs until the gripes were both connected.
The aft gripe wire had been secured and the forward gripe wire was still being connected
when a senior officer, who had not previously been involved in the task, instructed the crew in the boat to release both fall preventer devices.
The crew obeyed the senior officer and released the FPD shackles. When the forward FPD was disconnected, the forward hook opened and the davit suspension ring released. The forward end of the boat then fell onto handrails on the deck below, striking and injuring the bosun and damaging the lifeboat’s hull.
Emergency services were summoned to attend the injured crewman, who was taken to
hospital for observation. Fortunately, he was found to have suffered only minor injuries and
was able to return to the vessel the following day. The lifeboat was removed for repairs and
additional liferafts provided. The vessel was released from detention after the crew had undertaken training in emergency response situations.
Following the accident, it was established that statutory emergency drills, although recorded,
were found not to have been carried out. This led to the crew’s poor knowledge of how to operate the lifeboat release gear and other essential safety equipment on board the vessel.
Lessons learned
Emergency drills are a statutory requirement but, more importantly realistic drills provide seafarers with the training to instinctively respond to emergencies in an effective way.
Always ensure that the crew are trained to understand the operation of essential lifesaving equipment and are encouraged to challenge orders or ask for clarification if they don’t understand or agree with instructions.
Ensure that lifeboat release and retrieval gear is checked regularly and maintained in an operational condition.
Source & Image Credit: UK MAIB Safety Digest 2016/01
