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Lifeboats and Rescue Boats: Life savers or death traps? Part 3

10 reasons for rescue craft disasters, cont.:

6) Defective proximity switches. According to the MAIB report, in the Tonbarra accident, the proximity switch, which was supposed to cut power to the winch motor before the boat reached the davit stops, failed to function.

The MAIB said it was “aware of both inductive proximity and mechanical limit switches fitted on other vessels that have also failed to operate correctly. However, none are known to have resulted in a similar accident.”

If MAIB had already been aware of this problem, why did they not previously mandate that UK vessels equipped with this model equipment halt lowering boats until Schat-Harding, the manufacturer, could send out technicians to inspect and replace the switches if necessary? Why was the IMO not prompted to demand action by all flag states? Instead, the MAIB appeared to have punted to Schat-Harding which passed responsibility onto their customers (vessel operators) by recommending that crews “verify the effectiveness of watertight seals on electrical equipment fitted to boat davit systems on weatherdecks.”

7) Boats in excess of allowable weight. Following the Tonbarra disaster, the MAIB issued a safety bulletin stating that the Watercraft WHFRB 6.50 boat’s certified weight was 980 kg (2156 lbs). When weighed after the accident, it was 1450 kg (3190 lbs), or 470 kg (940 lbs) overweight. The same model rescue boats were subsequently inspected and weighed on sister ships. They, too, were significantly overweight.

A hidden truth was discovered: the integrity of the watertight compartments had been compromised.

8) Vessels don’t follow OSHA procedures. Following a liftboat accident where three workers fell 60 feet into the water in Portland, Maine harbor, OSHA official C. William Freeman III said "The workers should not have been in the lifeboat when it was being raised back to its stowed position. OSHA standards prohibit it. Had proper safeguards been followed, they would not have been in the lifeboat after the drill and therefore not exposed to serious injury and death." If OSHA has such a strong prohibition on this procedure, why does the U.S. Coast Guard not follow their lead and crack down on U.S. flag vessels that frequently perform this practice?

9) Improper weight distribution. The AIMPE maintains that when a lifeboat falls with less that its design criteria—such as 2 or 3 persons on board instead of the 18 it was designed to carry—there is insufficient mass to gradually absorb the kinetic energy when it strikes the water. The result is that the fewer passengers, the more abrupt the impact which causes a concussive load on the spine, neck and ligaments.

This presents a conundrum: More persons on board result in a softer landing but increases the risk of greater fatalities and injuries.

One solution could be to weight test the boat by filling it with water instead of crewmembers.

10) Lack of uniform launching conditions. There is no requirement that freefall launches occur when a vessel is under load. Thus, the increased entry angle of a light ship increases the shock load.

In conclusion, the question must be asked: what option do seafarers have to protect themselves from the risk of plunging to their death or losing body parts when ordered to board potential death traps? Unions may want to follow the lead of the AIMPE Lifeboat Drill Policy which advocates “an absolute rejection of our members being IN a lifeboat” when it is being raised or lowered as part of a drill.

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