MSF: Daughter craft man overboard incident

  • Safety Flash
  • Published on 16 July 2015
  • Generated on 14 November 2025
  • IMCA SF 10/15
  • 1 minute read

The Marine Safety Forum has published the following safety flash regarding a non-fatal man overboard incident. 

What happened?

A vessel was on location performing ‘routine’ duties. A Daughter Craft (DC) had been used for a drill and was in the process of being recovered when the boat man engaged in this work fell backwards into the water when the small boat jerked to starboard. He was recovered and was uninjured. No other party was injured during the incident.

The main conclusion drawn was that the boatman did not secure his safety harness to the harness point and did not convey this to the deck crew. Also, the deck crew lowered the davit wire without confirmation that the boatman was secure.

Causes: Failure of communication, failure to be aware of safety responsibilities, failure to use PPE appropriately.

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