Eureka wire locks

An incident which involved the inadvertent release of a taut wire dump weight recently occurred on a member’s vessel. The incident itself did not result in any injury, damage or loss of position. DP trials were being conducted in open water and the taut wire dropped to the seabed.

The cause of the incident was due to the wire being pulled through a Eureka wire lock. This occurrence, identified a discrepancy between the manufacturer’s recommendations and guidance available on the use of these wire locks.

The manufacturer recommends the use of a single wire lock clamp to make an end termination. However, the International Rigging and Lifting Handbook (1997 edition), printed by North Sea Lifting, used by the contractor, recommends two Eureka wire clamps are fitted irrespective of the rope diameter.

The member has now issued instructions that when using Eureka wire locks, two are fitted to make a termination.

The member has also included the following in their instructions:

“The bolts supplied with the wire locks are of a high quality to meet the torque values and should never be replaced with standard bolts. In addition the bolts should be tightened to the correct torque values using the correct torque tools.”