suggesting maintenance and care of the product often include safety suggestions about that particular type of line. The following is a list of necessary maintenance inspections/conditions of lines and equipment recommended for loss prevention:


• Fully non-skid decks – in recent years it has become apparent to the Club that non-skid decks are beneficial to the reduction of incidents


• Annual brake tests on winches • Snap-back zones clearly marked on deck • Warning signs posted


• Mooring lines kept on drum ends or on pallets –not on wet or sunny deck


• Fairleads and rollers free and regularly greased • Ropes made up to bitts correctly


• All grease nipples on deck equipment checked to ensure usability


• Wasting metal parts on equipment should be replaced NOT painted over


• Highlights of tripping hazards painted on deck


• Correct stoppers used – rope to rope and chain to wire


• Documented line inspection, retirement, replacement policy


All working lines on deck offer similar hazards to the mooring team. The Club was involved in a case in which a crewmember’s foot became caught in a tug’s messenger line when the ship was letting go. His foot was amputated by the line as it became taut. Hand and arm injuries can also result when personnel do not focus on the movement of line


during mooring operations when the lines can be caught up in other ropes or wires, slip off or become jammed on equipment. Trained deck crews under- stand the dangers of bights and line handling, yet complacency or inattention contribute to ongoing incidents.


Immediate notification of a mooring line accident allows the Club to assist the Member conduct an immediate and thorough investigation of the incident to determine the cause and legal liability of the Member and secure any evidence involved in the incident. After providing medical attention to any injured parties, the area should be immediately cordoned off to preserve the accident site and the equipment as it was at the time of the accident. Sections of the line on each side of the break should be secured to allow for later testing to determine the cause, if possible.


The catastrophic results of mooring incidents if not fatal are often near-amputation of limbs, severe head or brain injury, and paralysis from spinal cord injuries. Though the occurrences cannot be eliminated entirely, training of all personnel to familiarize them with safe mooring practices and consistently following maintenance guidelines for mooring equipment can reduce such tragedies. Routine safety meetings or job safety analyses prior to all mooring operations will reinforce the hazards and how to avoid them, even for the experienced sea- farer, who may become complacent and not pay proper attention to the operation.


The Club has several publications regarding the assessment of mooring incidents by its Loss Prev- ention Team and the Bodily Injury Team on the website, ukpandi.com, which is available to all Members.


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