An improperly reset hook was accountable for the unintentional launch of a freefall lifeboat from a bulk service within the Indian Ocean in 2014, the Australian Transport Safety Bureau has decided.

The Malta-flagged MV Aquarosa was transiting the Indian Ocean en path to Fremantle, Western Australia on March 1, 2014 when its freefall lifeboat was inadvertently launched throughout a routine inspection. The accident critically injured one of many ship’s engineers, who was contained in the lifeboat when it was launched. The ship’s crew recovered the lifeboat after about 5 hours and resumed its voyage, arriving in Kwinana, close to Fremantle, per week later the place the injured engineer was transferred to hospital.

In its remaining report, the ATSB stated that its investigation decided that the lifeboat on-load launch was incorrectly reset after it was final operated earlier than the accident. When the engineer operated the handbook launch pump to examine the gear, the reset launch tripped unexpectedly. The lifeboat launched when the simulation wires failed.

The investigation discovered that though there was an indicator to indicate that the hook was within the appropriate place, there was nothing to point that the tripping mechanism was accurately reset. It was additionally discovered that the design and approval course of for the lifeboat’s simulated launch system had not taken into consideration results of shock loading on the simulation wires.

The full ATSB report could be discovered HERE.

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