200629 Trapped in lifeboat by vacuum

29 Jan 2006 MARS

 

While the vessel was at anchor the opportunity was taken to lower the free-fall lifeboat (capacity 16 persons) in order to test the engine, water sprays and provide training for the crew. The boat was lowered to the water and was manned by a crew of four. The engine was run at full speed and the water sprays were tested successfully. On completion of this exercise the chief officer (who was in charge of the boat) reported that they could not open the doors or hatches of the lifeboat as a vacuum appeared to have been formed within the canopy. Subsequently the crew momentarily operated the air system but stopped this when the visibility in the lifeboat was severely reduced by the condensation of the released air. The vacuum was subsequently broken when the crew dismantled the bilge pump of the lifeboat and the doors and hatches could be opened.

The boat and crew were retrieved onboard and a subsequent investigation revealed the following:

  • The running of the lifeboat engine had caused the vacuum.
  • The under pressure device fitted in the door of the lifeboat was found seized and inoperable.
  • None of the crew was aware of the existence or location of these simple under- and overpressure devices fitted to the boat.
  • The lifeboat manufacturers handbook recommends that the operation of these devices is checked on a monthly basis or at every lifeboat drill.

Had the boat been fully manned and in a real emergency, the consequences of the failure to maintain these simple devices could have been dire.
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