[BITList] More on Another nasty accident !

[John Feltham]

From a correspondent…
  



We had a Wave Compensator control on our Monk crane for our North Sea disaster ships’  10 mtr F.R.C.s in the late ‘70s+

Designed only for recovery, when the boat’s lifting bridle would be attached to the recovery hook and the crane would then automatically compensated for the wave movement of the boat (kinda necessary in the rough North Sea conditions we operated those boats in),   maintaining tension on the bridle without lifting while crew sorted themselves out ready for the 30 foot hoist to main deck stowage.  When ready, the compensator would be over-ridden on pressing the lift control.

Under no circumstances was the Wave Compensator designed for the launch operation, and if I remember correctly, could not be engaged during lowering.

In fact, we had two hooks - a substantial quick-release hook used for launching, and this would be changed while the boats were away to a much simpler, plain hook for recovery, which saved crushing of fingers etc..
But then, we were a British flag ship, owned by B.P. Exploration and operated by B.P. Shipping, with a wholly British (B.P.S.) crew - well trained, and enthusiastic (much more interesting work than their tankers),  all fully trained in all aspects of the operations of these remarkable (and fun) heavy, fast craft:


Photo is of was our No. 1 ‘Pacific 30’ -  she was a prototype, designed and built on the Isle of Wight with financial support from B.P. Expo.  
She was wooden (!), with a 6-ltr marinised turbo-charged lorry engine.
Self righting, 3 methods of starting (after inverting),  capable of 26 knots, and incredibly good sea boats although they do wallow when not motoring.
We bought 4:   2 for the ‘Forties Kiwi’  and 2 for her eventual replacement - the ‘Iolair’ which took over at Forties when we moved up to the northern Magnus field.



After this prototype, the next 3 hulls were fibreglass and the stand-up control position was done away with and like all modern F.R.C.s, the helmsmen sat at the controls in the other 3 boats which saved their knees, but we did find that roll-bar very handy for holding on to when standing up, searching for bodies in the water
We all really enjoyed those boats (apart from the engineers who didn’t like their engines raced) - they could handle literally any weather and were, well, just plain Fun!

and they saved lives:
8 minutes was the longest we ever took from alarm going off to recovery of body into our hospital - our deck crews were never standing by the boats, but just working/living as normal on board.  When the klaxon went, all crews not on the bridge ran to the boats, first three donning gear #   with the next 3 to arrive manning the crane etc.  
Next three to arrive dressed in those dry suits for the 2nd boat launch.  

Rank was immaterial as we were all trained to the same degree including all trained as coxswain for these peculiar craft - they do handle very differently in rough weather to any other small craft I have experienced. 
Rehearsed/launched every day except in severe weather when we only launched for a real emergency - 
all worked like a fine tuned engine.

#  for speed, the 1st boat would be launched with crew in survival suits (quick to put on), while the crew for the 2nd. boat dressed in dry suits which took longer to get into, but allowed them to stay operating in the cold environment much longer than those in the survival suits.
We always launched both boats for a rescue.

> Begin forwarded message:
> 
> Real Life Accident: Crew Members Severely
> 
> Injured While Lowering Fast Rescue Boat (FRB)
> 
> The crew of an LNG tanker were in process of lowering the fast rescue boat (FRB). The FRB was nearly 6.5m in length, weighed 2,200 kg and could be launched from a remote control unit (as below) or from inside the boat, using a winch brake release wire. As one crew was about to release the brake to lower the FRB, another crew reached across and pressed the ‘wave compensator’ button on the remote control unit. His understanding was it must be activated before the boat reached the water.
> 
> As soon as this button was pressed the FRB descended at high speed hitting the water about 18 metres Several of the FRB crew were seriously injured and had to be evacuated. The wave compensation feature was designed to ensure there was continuous tension on the fall wire when the FRB was riding the sea swell. When active, the lifting capacity of the davit was reduced by approximately 90% to around 300 kg; the davit winch would continuously tension the fall wire but would have insufficient power to lift the FRB. The manufacturer’s instruction stated that the wave compensation feature should only be
> 
> 
> 
> DAILY COLLECTION OF MARITIME PRESS CLIPPINGS 2017 – 165
> 
> activated when the FRB was waterborne. As an additional safety measure, to prevent the wave compensation unit from activating if the wave compensator button was pressed before the FRB was waterborne, the system was fitted with a safety interlock. In this case, the safety interlock did not function correctly.
> 
> Lessons learned
> 
> The FRB davit wave compensator safety interlock did not operate as designed to prevent the fast rescue boat from free falling to the water. It was found that the safety interlocks on the wave compensator systems on board this vessel and two sister ships had been electrically by-passed thereby preventing them from functioning. As a result, the wave compensators on board all three ships could be engaged regardless of whether the FRB were waterborne or suspended from the fall wire. wave compensator button The maintenance and testing of the FRB davit by approved service agents had not identified that the wave compensator safety interlock was not correctly functioning on board the vessel. The training provided to the crew did not ensure they were sufficiently familiar with the function or operation of the wave compensator or its safety interlock The FRB manual, as supplied by the manufacturer, did not provide sufficient guidance for the crew in the operation of the wave compensator and its safety interlock. The job hazard analysis for the operation of the FRB was incomplete and did not include an assessment of the hazards associated with the operation of the wave compensator. Reference: nautinst.org <http://nautinst.org/>
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