200964 Deck crane damage

Deck crane damage
MARS Report 200964

A shore stevedore operating a ship's cargo crane used the bypass key to override the jib luffing lower limit cut-off switch, so that the cargo sling could be landed at the desired spot on the wharf. This resulted in the jib lowering out of control, falling heavily on the open hatch covers and sustaining heavy damage.

Lessons learned

No one other than a responsible ship's officer should operate the crane limit bypass limit switches.
The bypass limit switch is provided only for the purpose of parking the jib on the crutch.
The bypass switch key must never be available in the crane cabin.