Near-miss: Poorly secured load during lifting operations
- Safety Flash
- Published on 11 December 2012
- Generated on 17 February 2026
- IMCA SF 13/12
- 1 minute read
A Member has reported an incident in which equipment being back-loaded was found to be incorrectly and unsafely secured.
What happened?
The incident occurred during demobilisation of a third-party winch and running line monitor power supply unit (RLM PSU). It was noticed when this equipment was returned to the third party base that the RLM PSU had been secured to the winch frame using polypropylene rope in an unsafe manner. This could have resulted in the power pack becoming a potential dropped object or being damaged in transit.
Red arrows illustrating how RLM PSU was secured to winch frame using polypropylene rope
Items appropriately secured with securing straps in place
Our Member’s investigation drew the following conclusions:
- There was no identified storage area for the RLM PSU prior to the backload taking place. Appropriate storage areas should be identified for all third party equipment.
- Third party equipment such as the RLM PSU should be correctly packaged and secured before equipment load out/backload.
- All items should be thoroughly checked before lifting to ensure that appropriate securing arrangements are in place.
Members may also wish to refer to the following documents:
- Guidelines for lifting operations
- Avoiding dropped objects (poster, pocket card)
- Lifting operations (pocket card)
IMCA Safety Flashes summarise key safety matters and incidents, allowing lessons to be more easily learnt for the benefit of the entire offshore industry.
The effectiveness of the IMCA Safety Flash system depends on the industry sharing information and so avoiding repeat incidents. Incidents are classified according to IOGP's Life Saving Rules.
All information is anonymised or sanitised, as appropriate, and warnings for graphic content included where possible.
IMCA makes every effort to ensure both the accuracy and reliability of the information shared, but is not be liable for any guidance and/or recommendation and/or statement herein contained.
The information contained in this document does not fulfil or replace any individual's or Member's legal, regulatory or other duties or obligations in respect of their operations. Individuals and Members remain solely responsible for the safe, lawful and proper conduct of their operations.
Share your safety incidents with IMCA online. Sign-up to receive Safety Flashes straight to your email.