Page 47 - CHIRP Annual Digest 2017

CHIRP Annual Digest 2017

CHIRP Comment • There was no obvious rescue means on hand at the top
CHIRP and the UK’s Marine Accident Investigation Branch of the work area.
(MAIB) have several cases of dragging anchors, the latest • The inertia-wire rope unit was not directly above
for CHIRP was published in Maritime FEEDBACK 45. MAIB the worker. Should they have fallen they would have
report 28-2012 details an incident where windlass damage suffered the pendulum effect. The wire was passing
was the precursor to a series of incidents. over a sharp coaming.
• The inertia unit was secured to handrails that were in
Mariners do not always appreciate the limitations of an poor condition.
anchor, even when they take into consideration the depth
of water and amount of cable to be used. If winds of Force There are many factors here, including the design of a
6 are expected, the generic advice is for ships to heave gangway area that seems to have no regard for how to rig
anchor and go to safe waters or out to sea. Wind, wave safely. The idea that someone is expected to walk down a
and current limitations for an anchor system are given in gangway with no rails and then lift those rails into place
the DNV-GL article highlighted below. Procedures and train- shows that good human-centred design has a long way to
ing should cover an understanding of the environmental go in our industry.
and operational limitations of the anchoring equipment.
Proper maintenance following manufacturer’s recommen- Further to this, if we can’t change the design we should at
dations is essential. It is important to note that the wind least consider how we make people safe carrying out this
speed limit should be greatly reduced as the wave height task? How do we get an unconscious person back to deck
increases, because the anchor design assumes that level when using a safety harness and stop them dying from
anchoring takes place in sheltered waters. In addition, the suspension trauma?
effect of windage is much greater on a ballasted vessel,
particularly larger vessels. Typical marine industry reaction will likely be more training
for the seafarer to ensure he/she is blamed for what is, at
DNV-GL, The Swedish Club and GARD have published some root, a design issue not a behaviour/training issue.
excellent advice which may be found by on the DNV-GL web-
site as ‘Most anchor losses are avoidable’. References
within this article include an anchor loss video, ‘Anchor loss
prevention’ which is well worth watching.

In addition, the Board highlighted the fact that there have
been several cases of anchor windlass motor explosions,
some causing serious injury. An article from the Maritime
Accident Casebook further discusses these. Maritime Acci-
dent Casebook – exploding windlass refers.

The DNV-GL anchor loss article states that 34% of anchor
losses are due to weather, 24% due to the winch or motor
failures, and 21% due to operational procedures. The above
links are well worth reviewing to ensure that you do not
become another anchoring statistic.

All of the references mentioned above can be accessed
from the publications page of the CHIRP MARITIME website
https://chirpmaritime.org/publications
Lifejacket with safety lanyard.
The above article was published in MFB47
CHIRP Comment
Article. 37 The Maritime Advisory Board agreed with all aspects of this
report. It is good example of Human Centred Design not
An illusion of safety being applied, forcing crews to work around the problem.
Designers take note!
OUTLINE: A report outlining dangers with inertia-wire rope
safety lanyards when not used correctly. The above article was published in MFB49

What the Reporter told us:
Rigging the gangway, the crew were dutifully using iner-
tia-wire rope safety lanyards clipped to the webbing straps of
life jackets. There were a few issues of concern and I don’t
believe they are unique to this vessel.
• The lifejacket was not of a type designed for fall arrest.
(Lanyard clipped around strap and strap around torso).
• There was no energy absorbing lanyard in use.

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