Ocean Ambassador - May 2010

On completion of a lifeboat test and when lifting the lifeboat, after carrying out the tests of motor and the spraying system, the lifeboat released itself from the eye bolt connected to the forward hook of the Triple 5 Release Mechanism, remaining vertical for some moments when the after hook, that at the moment supported all the weight of the lifeboat, released it to drop into the sea from a height of approximately thirty meters. As a result of this accident, two crewmembers died and another two suffered serious injuries.

The Brazilian Authorities issued two reports: one from the Brazilian Maritime Authority Directorate of Ports and Coasts which has been prepared to be sent to the International Maritime Organization (IMO); the second is from the Naval Inquest Department of the Port Authority Office, to be sent to the Maritime Court’s Attorney General.

The Brazilian Maritime Authority concluded that the non-existence on board of the manual of operation and maintenance of the manufacturer, together with the lack of a presentation of the functioning and maintenance of the equipment by the manufacturer at the time of its installation on board, allowed, by the inexpertness of the crewmembers in charge of the operation of maintenance and training of the crew, that the release device Triple 5 was not with the correct adjustment,

This is the first accident with lifeboats fitted with the Triple 5 on-release hook and a high level overview of the findings of these reports by Survival Systems International, Inc. (SSI), the manufacturer of the Triple5 lifeboat release mechanism, gives key points noted in the reports and those known but not identified in the report.

Download Brazilian Maritime Authority report (1MB) :

Ocean Ambassador - May 2010

 

Download Naval Inquest report (300kB):

Ocean Ambassador Accident Inspection Report

 

Download SSI High Level overview (20kB):

SSI Overview - Ocean Ambassador