Non-routine lift leads to thruster incapacity
- DP Event
- Published on 29 November 2016
- Generated on 9 May 2025
- DPE 04/16
- 1 minute read
Undesired event
The lift had not been properly planned for the object being lifted – there was a failure to recognise that the mattress was not a routine lift.
Comments
The vessel maintained position throughout. The lift had not been properly planned or risk assessed for the object being lifted. There was a failure to recognise that the mattress was not a routine lift. A generic lift plan was used which did not cover this specific lift.
Considerations
- Danger of recognising an operation as routine, when it isn’t, and therefore using inappropriate standard procedures and risk assessments.
- A situational awareness of the whole operation, involving all departments, is required.
- Was there pressure to perform the task on an inappropriate vessel heading?
- One thruster was on standby – if the lift had been identified as non-standard then possibly all thrusters would have been online.
- DP red alert was used by the DP operator (DPO), although redundancy had not been compromised. It is unknown whether this was in line with the activity specific operating guidelines (ASOG), however the DPO considered that the event had potential to escalate and therefore decided to initiate red alert.
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The case studies and observations above have been compiled from information received by IMCA. All vessel, client, and operational data has been removed from the narrative to ensure anonymity. Case studies are not intended as guidance on the safe conduct of operations, but rather to assist vessel managers, DP operators, and technical crew.
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