In its latest report, IMCA describes a near-miss incident. Namely, during disconnecting lifting gear from a large piece of subsea equipment, the crew noticed that a securing pin on the load was out of position. A few minutes later, the securing pin fell out and dropped 15m onto deck. Noone was nearby where the pin landed.
The incident
While disconnecting lifting gear from a large piece of subsea equipment, which was on deck, the crew saw a securing pin being more than half out of position.
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The lifting gear has a large beam and two more spreader beams. The grommets used for these spreader beams were secured with the securing pin, in turn secured with a safety pin.
A few minutes later, the securing pin was touched by a steering line, leading the securing pin to fall out and drop 15m onto deck. Noone was near where the pin landed, as it had been spotted and the area had been cleared.
Probable cause
The pin was secured with a safety pin of the correct size. However, it is not know whether the safety pin was still in good shape and not bent open or damaged. It is not known as well if the safety pin fell out of the securing pin by itself or if the steering line somehow pulled/pushed the safety pin out.
Due to the rigging, the spreader beam was twisted. This caused the pin to slide out when the safety pin was gone. The safety pin was not found after the incident.
In order for this incident not to happen again, a new kind of safety pin was placed.
