201448 A few steps too many

Edited from official report of the Dutch Safety Board, Sept 2012

A small general cargo vessel was entering a lock and a spring line had been passed ashore. As the vessel’s propulsion was going astern in order to stop the vessel the Master reported by VHF radio to the deck crew that the vessel was ‘in position’ – although the vessel was still advancing at about 0.7 knots. The winch brake was fully tightened and almost immediately, and without warning, the synthetic spring line broke.

At this same time, a seaman had walked forward a few steps to retrieve a heaving line that had been thrown back to the vessel from ashore. This caused him to enter the snap back zone for the spring just as it broke. The seaman was hit by the mooring line and was killed almost instantly.

The official investigation found among other things that:
* The crew may not have been aware of all of the risks involved for mooring operations.
* Some publications used for informing mariners of snap back zones underestimate the extent of these zones. Other publications, such as those by The Nautical Institute or Seahealth Denmark are more accurate.
* A recently published IMO document (2013), MSC 92/inf.11, also has clear guidance to help prevent accidents while mooring.