The Coast Guard just released its report about a lifeboat accident that killed two people and seriously injured a third on a Shell platform in the Gulf of Mexico two years ago.
The final report said that a preventable chain of events contributed to the accident, but “the most significant factor was the degradation and failure of the lifeboat’s aft release cable.” Just a month before the fatal accident, service reps from the original manufacturer inspected the lifeboat and found corrosion and damage to the aft hook cable.
They said they told Shell people on board that the cable needed to be replaced, but they also said the lifeboat could return to service. The Shell job sponsor and barge supervisor said they did not remember such a conversation.
The accident occurred during a routine quarterly lifeboat launching and retrieval on the Shell Auger floating platform in the Gulf of Mexico on June 30, 2019. At 1000 hours, the crew was recovering lifeboat number 6, an enclosed motor lifeboat with a twin davit system.
As the crew winched the lifeboat up, the aft quick-release hook on the lifeboat opened. The Coast Guard report says “The lifeboat, still hanging from the forward hook, swung in a pendulum motion away from the facility. A few seconds later, the forward hook separated from the lifeboat and opened, and the lifeboat fell approximately 80 feet, landing inverted in the water.”
The two men in the lifeboat were killed. A third who was leaving the lifeboat at the time was seriously injured
The report said that the lead service engineer from the lifeboat manufacturer “did not recognize the severity of the hazard posed by the corroded and compromised cable. Specifically, he was unaware that the damaged cable might prevent the aft hook from locking properly and permit it to inadvertently open and release the aft end of the lifeboat.”
After the accident, the report says, testing by Coast Guard investigators “illuminated the unsafe condition created by the damaged release cable and this means of failure.”
The Coast Guard made ten safety recommendations after the investigation. Read more:
