Engine Room Crane

Letter Text:

I refer to the accident report in CHIRP Maritime FEEDBACK Issue No 23 concerning overloading the engine room crane. The photograph showed this to be marked with an SWL of 3500 kg.

I would agree that a length of hoisting chain should be paid out equivalent to the stroke of the engine before removing the connecting rod top bolts from the top joint (MAN and MAK)

Should the engine turning gear be disconnected after the respective piston has been removed, then precautions should be taken to prevent any crankshaft assembly rotation due to the imbalance caused by piston assembly removal. The bottom line is to ensure that the job card is written correctly, that fully experienced operatives operate the equipment. In the reported incident, the torque generated by the engine turning gear should have been realised before work commenced.