Incident Information in Loss of Inflatable Liferaft – Failure of Fastening

This incident refers to the loss of an inflatable liferaft. The master of a vessel reported that the fastening for one of the liferafts failed whilst the vessel was in port, allowing the liferaft to roll over the side of the ship. The liferaft container landed between the ship and the wharf causing the liferaft to inflate. The inflatable liferaft was retrieved but the container was lost. Luckily no persons were hit by the raft.

On inspection the eyelet connected to the shaft of the “senhouse slip hook” had broken off freeing the lashing straps and allowing the liferaft to be released. The liferaft cradle was installed at an angle allowing the liferaft to roll overboard. It was also noted that there were two different types of “senhouse slip hook” in use, and that one of the modified types had also failed in way of the spot welded connection. On further inspection, one of the buckles connected to the lashing straps was also found to be broken.

Such incidents highlight the importance of proper maintenance of safety equipment. When carrying out the required maintenance and inspections of  the life saving appliances ensure that the fastening system for keeping the liferafts attached to the ship such as slip hooks and buckles for lashing straps are carefully inspected to confirm that they remain in good condition.

Left – “Senhouse slip hook” – eyelet broken off.
Right – “Senhouse slip hook” – welding fracture at weld.

Left – Newer type of “Senhouse slip hook”.
Center – Fracture through at location of spot welding.
Right – Buckle of lashing strap corroded and broken.

Source: DNV