A ship manager has reported an incident to a radar antenna as follows:
While the vessel was at sea, heavy adverse weather conditions were experienced, with 9-10 Beaufort and wind speed more than 45 knots. The Master reduced speed in order to minimize the weather impact. Suddenly the S-Band radar antenna became detached from its base and landed on the masthead platform. The antenna was damaged and could not be repaired by the crew. The cause of the failure was determined to be improper installation of the S-Band Antenna by shipyard personnel. The antenna should have been mounted on the foundation plate (base) with eight bolts rated M12 but was actually secured with four bolts of M10, which were not adequate to withstand the applied wind forces.
This incident underlines the need for thorough inspection of all equipment, systems and arrangements on new vessels during their first period of operation. These inspections should verify that all equipment, systems and machinery comply with the manufacturer’s specifications and industry standards and do not present any safety risks. Any defect or malfunction or low standard item should be reported to the company so they can issue a guarantee claim to the ship builder.
