Lifeboat davit sheave incident
- Safety Flash
- Published on 3 July 2003
- Generated on 21 February 2026
- IMCA SF 08/03
- 1 minute read
A Member has reported an incident involving a lifeboat davit sheave that occurred during ‘routine’ planned maintenance.
What happened?
On completion of tests, run according to the company’s standard procedures, personnel had re-boarded the vessel using the lifeboat embarkation ladder and the operation to recover the lifeboat to deck was commenced. The boat reached approximately 1 metre above the deck when a loud noise was heard. The operation was stopped immediately.
Close inspection revealed that one of the davit sheaves had disintegrated around its perimeter (circumference) and that this, in turn, had caused the falls wire to jump clear of the sheave and become trapped between the sheave face and sheave bracket on the davit structure (see figure).
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