A crane toppled off a development barge close to Norfolk, Va., final 12 months as a result of no spotter was current to note the crane being pushed too far aft, and the cable system securing the crane to the barge failed, the National Transportation Safety Board mentioned Thursday in its most up-to-date marine accident investigation report.
The barge, the Carolyn Skaves was a 180-foot-long development barge in-built 2019 and owned by Sterling Equipment. In 2021, Seaward Marine Corporation (Seaward Marine) leased the barge and bought a Liebherr 1300.1SX mannequin cellular hydraulic lattice increase crawler crane, which was operated from the deck of the barge.
Beginning in September 2021, the Virginia Department of Transportation contracted Seaward Marine to put in bridge substructure parts for the Interstate 64 Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel in Norfolk as a part of an growth mission for the bridge-tunnel. The firm provided the Carolyn Skaves and its onboard crawler crane to finish the work. At the top of every workday, all workers departed the spudded-down barge (nobody stayed on board the barge in a single day)
While engaged on the mission close to Norfolk on Feb. 8, 2022, the crawler crane fell off the development barge and into Willoughby Bay. The crane was later recovered and declared an insurance coverage lack of practically $2 million. There have been no accidents, however an oil sheen was seen on the water.
As ever, the total report provides a bit extra coloration to the barebones NTSB abstract. Here’s a pattern:
“After lowering the block to its desired height, the crane operator began moving the crane aft, using the pedals to move each track. The operator told investigators that as he moved the crane aft, he heard a noise on his left and thought the crane’s steps had hung up on something. He quickly looked to his left and right and then looked for the aft stop mark painted on the timber mat near the forward end of his left track. He stated that he saw that he was beyond the stop mark and released the pedals that he used to move the crane aft. He felt the crane was ‘light in the toes,’ meaning he could see the tracks ‘were starting to come up a little bit,’ so he immediately pushed the pedals to move the crane forward. However, the crane continued to travel aft, and he felt the crane ‘tipping over,’ so he opened the cab door and jumped from the crane as it ‘went over backwards off the barge’ into the bay.”
The 320-ton crane was secured to the barge utilizing a centerline cable system that allowed the crane to maneuver forwards and backwards. The system, required by the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), was meant to stop the crane from shifting laterally or rolling off the barge.
NTSB investigators discovered that because the crane moved towards the strict getting ready for a carry, the centerline cable’s aft eye had opened and have become disconnected from the aft deck bracket. This triggered the cable system to fail, permitting the crane to journey too far aft. The investigation discovered {that a} stronger centerline cable system, one in step with OSHA laws, would have prevented the crane from being pushed off the development barge.
The firm’s coverage required a spotter for use “any time the crane is traveling,” however there was no spotter current when the crane toppled off the barge. The NTSB discovered that the corporate didn’t know staff weren’t following its coverage as a result of they didn’t have processes in place to make sure staff have been complying.
The NTSB decided the possible reason behind the crane toppling was the dearth of a spotter throughout the crane motion and the failure of the centerline cable system used to safe the crane to the bridge. Contributing was ineffective firm oversight of barge operations.
“All repositioning of a crawler crane on a construction barge—no matter how routine—should be adequately planned and risk-assessed,” the report mentioned. “All personnel involved in movement operations should be clearly identified and their duties understood, including spotting. A method such as a cable system or other physical attachment to prevent the crane from falling off the barge must also be in place before moving the crawler crane as required by OSHA regulations.”
- Download the total NTSB report HERE
