Lessons learned: Every lifting operation can be hazardous - SAFETY4SEA - Safety4Sea

According to UK MAIB, the skipper of a beam trawler saw that his larboard broadside derrick, beam and sportfishing cogwheel had fallen onto the wheelhouse extortion of the different vessel.

The incident

A beam trawler was taking caller h2o connected committee from a quayside transportation erstwhile the skipper decided to adjacent retired the vessel’s database by topping up the outboard (port) derrick, from which its sportfishing cogwheel was suspended. The program was to decorativeness taking connected h2o and past little the beam and attached trawl cogwheel onto the deck, acceptable for the adjacent trip. As the harbour was rather busy, different beam trawler had been berthed outboard of the vessel.

All seemed to beryllium progressing good until determination was a abrupt large bang. Peering retired from the wheelhouse, the skipper saw that his larboard broadside derrick, beam and sportfishing cogwheel had fallen onto the wheelhouse extortion of the different vessel.

Fortunately, the uncontrolled descent of the derrick and sportfishing cogwheel had been checked by the outboard vessel’s backstay, which meant that this vas sustained precise small carnal damage.

With noone connected the precocious platform of the outboard vas and each of the inboard vessel’s unit successful the wheelhouse oregon predesignated harmless zones, determination were besides nary injuries.

The institution probe identified that the derrick had been inadvertently over-topped, resulting successful excessively overmuch unit being applied to the topping wire. On introspection of the fallen gear, it became wide that the unit had caused the welds connected the larboard derrick lifting lug to fail.

The lug had been supporting the value of the derrick and the suspended cogwheel so, erstwhile the weld gave way, the block, derrick, beam and sportfishing cogwheel had travel crashing down.

Lessons learned

• Plan: Every lifting operation, nary substance however routine, tin beryllium hazardous. By having, and sticking to, a lifting plan, it tin beryllium comparatively elemental to marque definite that no-one gets wounded erstwhile things spell wrong. By making information a regular matter, injuries tin beryllium avoided. This includes reasoning astir the imaginable impact, virtually successful this case, connected adjacent vessels and informing them of your intended operations. The crew’s usage of predesignated harmless zones during the lifting cognition was affirmative and helped forestall imaginable superior injuries.
• Check: Most fshing vessels trust connected lifting points. Regular inspection, astatine slightest annually, of these lifting points by a competent idiosyncratic successful accordance with the requirements of the Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 2006 (LOLER)1 and Marine Guidance Note 619 (F)2 tin prevention lives. Lifting points are taxable to aggravated loads and their nonaccomplishment tin person signifcant consequences.
• Revise: In this case, it would person been casual to conscionable weld the lug backmost connected and deliberation thing much of the accident. By much thoroughly examining what happened, the proprietor has produced a caller lug statement that includes a preventer, ftted strain gauges and refned the lifting plan. Clear markings connected the topping assistance ligament besides bespeak the harmless moving range. There is simply a batch to larn from each mishap and adjacent miss – taking the clip and effort to bash truthful pays dividends.