Confidential Human Factors
Incident Reporting Programme
The Charity
Aviation
Maritime
M2307
Initial Report
Upon boarding a large superyacht which had been relocated between continents, the reporter prioritised safety checks. They discovered both life rafts needed to be correctly rigged and were mislabelled, with unreadable hydrostatic release units (HRUs). One life raft had a painter line incorrectly secured to the cage instead of the HRU, while the other life raft was not secured to any fixture.
Seeking immediate action, the reporter sent the rafts to a nearby manufacturer for annual servicing. The manufacturer identified serious discrepancies, including oversized strapping that could potentially hinder the life raft canister opening.
During an inflation test witnessed by the yacht manager and deck crew, both rafts exhibited alarming issues: water infiltration, mould, corrosion of some fittings, and disconnected gas cylinder firing pins. Corroded high-pressure gas lines further compromised safety, leading to one lineās failure during testing, emitting CO2 into the workshop.
These findings underscored the rafts’ unfit condition, with expired flares and unprotected safety equipment, which would have posed grave risks in an emergency.
The new management has carried out a rigorous inspection regime to ensure that the vesselās safety has been brought to a state of operational readiness.
CHIRP Comment
Life rafts are essential life-saving appliances and must be properly maintained. The service company responsible for this maintenance should always be reputable and approved. Unfortunately, no maintenance had been conducted, and inspectionsāboth internal and by the flag and port stateāhad failed to identify the problems. Additionally, crew members were unaware of the condition of the life rafts, their hydrostatic release units, or their securing points. This highlights a serious lack of safety culture within the company, leaving the crew with equipment that would not function in an emergency.
It is excellent practice, as the reporter demonstrated, to witness the inflation of the life rafts during servicing by the appointed company. Doing so ensures that maintenance standards are upheld and reassures the crew that the life rafts will function correctly when needed. The reporter deserves commendation for prioritizing safety upon joining the vessel. The flag state were altered to the poor quality inspections.
Key Issues relating to this report
Capability: The failure to recognize an unsafe situation with the life rafts highlights a lack of knowledge and experience among the crew at all levels. During safety inspections on your vessel, do you participate in the inspection process? During safety drills, are life-saving appliances (LSA) explained to you? Do you know the correct method for securing the life raft hydrostatic release units?
Ā Culture: Do you feel that the company employing you as crew on board your vessel genuinely cares about your safety?
Ā Alerting: The reporter has gone the extra mile to highlight how poor the safety conditions on the vessel are. These actions have led to a positive change in safety practices.