Near miss as crane boom broke free on Hercules Rig 251

For every reported offshore accident and injury, there are countless other near misses that nobody ever hears about.

Take the evening of December 11, 2008. At approximately 1930 hours during a backlift operation on Hercules Offshore Rig 251 in the Gulf of Mexico, the crane operator (CO) was positioning the boom to lower a cutting box onto a work boat. According to the Minerals Management Accident Investigation Report (AIR), when the CO boomed down to a 46 degree angle, the crane failed to control the lift, which started descending uncontrollably toward the work boat and its crewmembers. The CO attempted to engage the stop pawl but the dog did not hold. The crewmembers managed to get out of the way without injury as the load fell onto the boat deck.

The cause of the incident: “metal fatigue at the mainframe under the rope drums.”

Source: Bureau of Ocean Energy Management