The incident
During the early hours of a dark autumn morning, preparations were underway for a domestic ro-ro passenger ferry to shift from the lay-by berth onto the linkspan. An able seaman (AB) on the forward mooring deck noticed that the heaving line was entangled with the mooring rope, which had been tied off on the handrail. Upon releasing them, the AB began manually heaving them back inboard. Unfortunately, as the mooring rope was set free, the weighted heaving line sank and got drawn into the forward propulsion unit. The mooring rope, still entangled, rapidly paid out from its pallet, causing the AB to attempt to jump out of harm’s way.
As the loose end of the mooring rope escaped, it swiftly wound around the bitts and through the fairlead, ensnaring the lower leg of the AB before vanishing into the water. Reacting quickly, the AB managed to use his radio to alert the bridge, prompting them to halt the propulsion unit. Subsequently, he fell to the deck in immense pain. Although the AB sustained significant bruising and abrasions on his leg, the outcome could have been far more severe.
The Lessons
- Risk → Given the vessel’s design limitations, the mooring deck had limited space, posing a genuine hazard of encountering a snapback or, as exemplified in this incident, a runaway rope with potentially catastrophic outcomes. It is crucial to pause and consider your escape route on the mooring deck in the event of a rope running out of control.
- Communicate → During the mooring process the previous evening, the heaving line became entangled with the mooring rope. The night team had planned to inform the day team about this during the handover, but unfortunately, the communication did not take place. As a result, the day team was unaware of the twisted rope, and consequently, they did not allocate the necessary time and resources to rectify the situation.
Did you subscribe to our newsletter?
It’s free! Click here to subscribe!
Source: MAIB
