Unsafe lifting points for RIB Work Boat

Initial report

A new crew member inspected the ship’s lifesaving equipment to familiarise themselves with the equipment on board. They discovered that the lifting eyes in the ship’s workboat were damaged and loose, which meant it was not the eyes carrying the load but a length of threaded bar which appeared poorly maintained. If the lifting eyes had failed while the boat was being lifted it could have resulted in serious injury to the two crew members who are ordinarily inside when it is lowered into the water.

CHIRP Comment

The condition of the items in the photographs suggest that neither inspection nor maintenance routines were effective, and that the boat’s crew were either unaware that the lifting eyes were in a dangerous condition or did not feel empowered to report their concerns.

The reporter is praised for their exemplary safety attitude and for reporting their concerns, which have potentially averted death or serious injury to their crewmates.

Human Factors relating to this report

Alerting – The initiative demonstrated by the new crew member who discovered the defects is admirable. Is this something that you would consider doing during your familiarisation tour? It could avert a serious or even lethal accident.

Capability – Were the crew members responsible for inspection and maintenance of the sea-boat capable of identifying and reporting the poor condition of the lifting eyes? Does this suggest a training shortfall?

Culture – Was there a culture of poor maintenance on board the vessel – or was it not undertaken? CHIRP has previously raised concerns about ‘cultures of compliance’ (where busy workloads or other pressures cause seafarers to falsely sign paperwork to indicate that they had done work even if it wasn’t true).

Report Ends……………………