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Marine Safety Forum – Safety Flash 13-31
Issued: 17th
July 2013
Subject: Transfer of Small Item Daughter Craft Incident
While on location an Emergency Response & Rescue Vessel was requested to provide assistance
and transfer a “small” item from one installation to another. A Daughter Craft (DC) was deployed to
carry out the transfer. The small item was passed down from the installation to a Platform Supply
Vessel (PSV) working alongside and the DC attempted to come alongside the PSV amidships. The
initial attempt to come alongside was unsuccessful and the PSV crew relocated aft attempting to
complete the transfer. The DC came alongside aft and during the transfer came into contact with
the PSV and the resultant contact broke the window on the DC.
Environmental Conditions:
Wind Direction: Northeast
Wind Force: 3-4
Sea Height 2 metres
Visibility Good
An investigation was conducted and resulted in the following findings:
No objective evidence procedure “transfer of small items” had been referred to.
No objective evidence Toolbox Talk was carried out.
The wind directions in relation to the PSV heading provided no lee from environmental
conditions.
No consideration was given to the location or effects of wash from thrusters and / or
propellers
The PSV had a raised counter flat transom stern which ensured the DC fender sponson
was below the transom and the first point of contact was the deck house.
Communications between the DC & PSV were not adequate.
Root Cause:
Inadequate Risk Assessment.
Not adopting suitable procedure.
Brief description of learnings:
Transfers of “small” items have historically been identified as an area where the risks are not fully
appreciated and can be seen as a routine task. It was not appreciated that holding position
alongside a stationary vessel is more difficult than holding position alongside a vessel making
headway. Vessels Management System contains a procedure for Transfer of Small Items and was
not addressed.
recommended action(s):
Time Out For Safety Meeting was held onboard with Ships Staff and Shore Management to
discuss the findings and the potential outcome of the incident.
