Near-miss with cherry picker wire
- Safety Flash
- Published on 1 September 2000
- Generated on 21 February 2026
- IMCA SF 05/00
- 1 minute read
While lowering a ladder using a cherry picker crane to a diver, the wire came off the drum and dropped uncontrolled to the seabed.
What happened?
The diver was well clear of the load at the time of the incident. The investigation revealed there was insufficient wire on the drum for the depth of water.
The company involved has initiated the following actions:
- wires to be painted to show when they are approaching the last layer on the drum.
- crane and winches to have maximum allowable working depth clearly displayed. This information is to be updated if cutbacks occur.
- drums of cranes to be adequately illuminated.
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