Initial report A crew member slipped while working aloft and fell a few metres onto the deck below. They suffered light bruising and were a bit shocked but there was no lasting injury. They were following the ‘working at height’ procedures correctly and were wearing a safety harness but the leash had been attached to […]
Initial report A pilot boarded a ship using a combination rig. After their embarkation, and while the accommodation ladder was being recovered, the wire falls parted, and the accommodation ladder dropped to the sea and trailed in the water as the vessel was underway to the port. The Master alerted the pilot to what had […]
Initial report A fisher returned to their vessel with a guest in the late evening after they had met ashore. Both had drunk alcohol. It was low tide, and the vessel was approximately 6m below the quay edge due to the tidal range in that port. As they climbed down the vertical quayside ladder, the […]
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 […]
Initial report As a laden LPG tanker prepared to depart a berth with a pilot embarked, smoke was detected in the Bosun’s store in which the motors for the hydraulic winches were housed. The motors were immediately stopped using the remote shut-off controls and the Master immediately suspended the unberthing operation to allow the alarm […]
Initial report A lumber carrier embarked a pilot as it approached a loading berth where a tug waited to assist. The pilot requested that the vessel secure the tug’s line to the mooring bitts on the forward deck. After this was achieved, and as the tug came under the line to push up, the tug […]
Initial Report As a container ship was conducting outbound pilotage, the bridge team noticed a delay in response of the steering gear. At the same time, they noticed an alarm indicating “EMERGENCY – XX, SERVO LOOP”. The steering gear was in manual mode operated by Follow-Up (FU) No. 1 and No. 2 system control units. […]
Initial report During an annual lifeboat safety inspection it was discovered that the on-load cable release could not easily be moved, and the release lever required extreme force to operate. The forward hook cable release also did not operate properly. A replacement cable release arrangement was procured locally, and repeated tests were conducted to confirm […]
The following three short reports all concern failures to comply with the pilot ladder regulations. Initial Report (1) Trapdoor type combination, accommodation ladder platform less than five metres above the sea. The Pilot told the Master that in moderate sea and swell conditions access would not have been possible due to the risk of the pilot […]
Outline: The following report reflects a perennial problem for coastal yachting. What the reporter told us: Whilst coastal sailing in wind force 4-5 at 6-7 knots an odd noise was heard, similar to a wave slapping the side of the boat. Nothing else unusual was apparent. Approximately two hours later, and after about an hour’s […]