Feature 2 | SAFETY


Release hook guidelines still expose grey areas


As welcome as they are, the new lifeboat release hook guidelines agreed at Maritime Safety Committee 89 this year could be more prescriptive, two release hook system manufacturers argue.


Organization’s (IMO’s ) ability to finally reach a consensus on, and set out a framework for, guidelines governing the design and maintenance of on-load lifeboat release hooks. At the 89th meeting of Maritime Safety Committee (MSC), hosted in May, a clear set of guidelines were unveiled under MSC.1./ Circ.1392. Remarkably, MSC 89 marked the


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first time that guidelines for on-load release hooks – now monikered ‘lifeboat release and retrieval systems’ – have been approved, even though these product types have been commercially available for 25 years. The IMO guidelines will become


mandatory under Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) rules, applying to new boats as of 1 July 2014. Vessels will have to present their existing hooks for testing and, should they fail to meet the new standards, will be requested to upgrade these hooks at the first available drydock after the deadline has passed.


Areas ignored After years of indecision on the parts of IMO member flag states and non-governmental organisations, the progress made at MSC 89 was welcomed by a number of lifeboat release manufacturers, not least by David Torres, vice president for sales at Schat-Harding. Hailing the development, and the


creation of a new “international template” for these systems as having been “a long time in coming”, he nonetheless draws attention to the fact that the guidelines still remain rather vague on the topic of ‘secondary safety systems’ (SSS; items which could include pins, for instance).


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ne of the more notable safety breakthroughs this year was the International Maritime


Similarly, IMO has not laid down clear-cut standards on fall prevention devices (FPDs) for either new or upgraded lifeboat release hooks. The ‘FPD’ tag covers all interim devices used by shipowners under MSC.1 / Circ.1327 until their hooks have been tested and approved, or replaced with compliant hooks. The downside with this strategy, Torres


warns, is that manufacturers may plough ahead with individual standards for SSS and FPDs, creating confusion in the marketplace and leading to a mixture of differing standards. “Adding complication to hooks increases the possibility of mechanical or human failure,” Torres claims. Similarly, he comments, the MSC.1 / Circ.1327 recommendations do not provide prescriptive guidelines for the issue of vibration, a potential cause of hook failure. Schat-Harding aims to have test


hooks in service by 1 July 2013, and to meet the 1 July 2014 deadline, but the company is expecting a frantic rush of orders for these products, post-deadline. Torres says: “After July 2014, we face a window for replacements to older boats and non-compliant systems, which depends on drydock dates and could run until 2019. So, we have an eight-year window ahead of us, during which demand for hooks will come in waves.” The retrospective nature of


the IMO


guidelines could lead to a stampede for replacement hooks, especially for those operators who leave their post-deadline tests until the last minute.


Eleventh hour anxiety Also welcoming the MSC 89 guidelines is Esben Juul Sørensen, managing director of Denmark-based, off-load release hook system manufacturer Nadiro, but he recognises that, from a practical


perspective, shipowners may have little choice but to order new, or replace existing, hook systems at the eleventh hour. “It would be good if IMO also released a ‘black list’ before the 2014 deadline, so shipowners could get a good idea of which systems are unlikely to achieve compliance,” he tells Offshore Marine Technology. “The shipowners won’t be getting this information until the last second.” Another problem is that, while


the guidelines primarily


address on-load release systems with off-load release capabilities, a number of existing manufacturers, such as Nadiro, manufacture off-load release systems with on-load release capabilities. Bypassing the dated, and potentially


lethal wire systems that were synonymous with 1960s and 1970s off-load release systems – arrangements that often led to incidents of wire entanglement prior to lifeboat release, resulting in crew injuries during drills and emergencies, and 123 fatalities when Norwegian oil platform Alexander Kielland listed in 1980 – the Nadiro hook release system instead incorporates a patented Drop-In- Ball concept. The hydraulically-powered system features a locking pawl, which securely holds the ball mechanism in place until the lifeboat is waterborne, whereupon it can be manually released at the push of a button. The Drop-In-Ball system is available in two configurations, capable of handling different


lifeboat


sizes, up to a maximum complement of 120 evacuees, and can be retrofitted on most vessel types. Nadiro is also able to provide winterised


versions of the system, specifically for vessels operating within the Arctic and areas subject to harsh, low temperatures, these being capable of withstanding temperatures plummeting down to -60°C. OMT


Offshore Marine Technology 4th Quarter 2011


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