Design flaw and poor maintenance faulted in life boat fatality

In another example of the dangers of lifeboats, poor maintenance and a flawed design were ruled to blame for a seafarer’s plunge to death from a cruise ship in a lifeboat accident in New Zealand in January.

The victim and another worker were performing routine maintenance on the Volendam’s starboard lifeboat when one of the fall wires parted. The boat ended up hanging end for end. Both men fell into the water. One of them was rescued but the other did not survive and his body was recovered four hours later.

The investigation report released by the Transport Accident Investigation Commission (TAIC) cited heavy corrosion of the falls wire at the point where it parted as the main cause of the accident. The corrosion led to weakened structural strength and a tensile fracture. Contributing to the corrosion was the fact that the davit’s design hindered the ability to apply a protective coating of grease completely around the wires. An inspection of all of the vessel’s davits revealed significant corrosion on 10 wires, necessitating immediate action.

Moreover, even though both men were wearing safety harnesses, the safety wire attached to the ship failed. Neither person wore a buoyancy jacket.

The TAIC issued safety recommendations to the davit manufacturer to alert all users of the davit system about the accident and to review the system’s design to remedy the problem. It also recommended that a personal floatation device always be worn when working over the side.

Launching a lifeboat or rescue boat may be maritime's deadliest job of all. The dangers have been well documented for years the UK Marine Accident Investigation Bureau (MAIB) Safety Study of 2001 confirmed what many in the maritime industry knew: rescue craft safety is a disaster. Some of the culprits include failed releasing mechanisms, parting wires and faulty emergency stops which can result in crews freefalling nearly 100 feet in some

Read more in our article“Lifeboats and Rescue Boats: Life savers or death traps?”

Source: NZ Herald