The UK P&I Club highlighted the potential dangers of
lifeboat drills, following an incident during a lifeboat drill, which has left
one crewmember dead, and four injured.
A study in 2014 by a UK safety group
using accumulated data over a ten-year period indicated that incidents
involving lifeboats and their launching systems had caused nearly 16% of the
total lives lost by merchant mariners. Even more survived lifeboat incidents
but suffered severe injuries of the spine and lower extremities. All of these
accidents occurred during training exercises or drills, supervised by
qualified, experienced seafarers.
As the design of lifeboats has
progressed, the requirement to understand the mechanics of launching operations
has become more complicated. In Captain Velankar’s , UK Club Loss
Prevention Risk Assessor, view, merchant ships such as tankers and bulk
carriers, are progressively losing touch with the maintenance of wires and
ropes due to lack of routine. The release mechanism are often very poorly
understood on ships today and this is leading to increasing detentions and
delays for shipowners.Sometimes the design of the launching system is itself
flawed.
The UK Club has previously dealt
with an incident involving a release mechanism of a safety hook which opened
without any physical action by the crew. The boat fell over eight meters to the
water causing three crew members to sustain fractures to their ankles, legs and
spine. The investigation discovered that when the hoisting wire became kinked
on the drum, the mass force of that action caused the hook to release without
any contact by a crew member. The recommendation was to replace such safety
hooks with a modified version which included a safety lock pin.
Some lifeboat incidents occur which
cannot be explained by the experts. For example, a lifeboat drill injury
recently occurred when a boat was being raised by a winch to within a foot or
two of being in the fully stowed position. The winch was automatically
programmed to stop at this point, as the rest of the stowing was done by use of
a hand crank on deck. All mechanisms were working properly but when a crew
member inserted the hand crank to fully stow the boat, the hand crank suddenly
began to rotate and whipped around and struck the crew member in the head
causing injury and hearing loss. There was no brake malfunction and the
incident could not be duplicated in further testing. There was corrosion on the
electrical panel and some improper fuses in place, but the investigation was
inconclusive as to the cause of the hand crank failure.
Lessons learned from the
prior incidents
- The entire crew should be capable of operating lifeboat systems and understanding the mechanics and procedures even with minimum training or experience.
- Communication between the crew during drills must be clear, with confirmed completion of each step throughout the exercise.
- When the design of the lifeboat launch system and its components are complicated, Members should consistently train on the operation, repair and maintenance of the entire lifeboat system. If necessary, require that the manufacturer supply easy to understand instructions and diagrams to explain the proper operation or create a common operating procedure safety manual independent of the manufacturer instructions.
The remedy for lack of
familiarity with lifeboats among crewmembers and human error is through the
continuous training of staff and sufficient risk assessment procedures. The
most effective training for the seafarers is for them to know why something is
done in a particular way, to better understand the procedures – not just
remember them. As a result, their understanding should give crewmembers more
confidence in the systems.
Training should specifically
address the launching of lifeboats and the correct maintenance and handling
procedures to enable seafarers to safely use and maintain the equipment under
all conditions.
Drills must be reliable
and safe with minimum risk to those participating. The IMO amended SOLAS in
2006 and 2008 to address conditions under which lifeboat drills are conducted,
introduce changes to the maintenance and inspection requirements, and drills
without requiring crew members to be
onboard the boat.
The review and studies included
guidance for the launch of free-fall lifeboats during drills, and the servicing
of launching systems and on-load/off-load release mechanisms. The intent is to
prevent accidents and instil confidence in the crew members during abandon-ship
drills.
Hazard, threats and
consequences:
In the centre of the
diagram, Hazardous Activities is identified as the ‘hazard’, while blue squares
to the left identify a range of ‘threats’, which, if not controlled, could
cause a serious incident involving P&I claims and other consequences which
can be seen in the red shape on the far right of the diagram.
Controls:
Between these extremities
can be seen the ‘controls’ which, if they work properly, will prevent the
accident happening and on the right hand side of the diagram, controls which
will mitigate the consequences.Thus taking as an example the threat of Lifeboat
Launching (left hand side), controls which should be in place to prevent this
include machinery guards, inspection and planned maintenance, lifeboat release
hook testing, good system maintenance and for exercises to be conducted in calm
conditions.
Consequences:
The consequences of an
accident (right hand side) will be mitigated by the capability of the crew to
deal with an incident, good record keeping, emergency reporting and
communication procedures, systems and procedures to maintain steering, emergency
drills, clear abort procedures and recovery measures implemented by
well-trained crew.
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