Potential dropped objects in frame pockets

What happened?

The Marine Safety Forum (MSF) has published Safety Alert 18-20 on Potential Dropped Objects in Frame Pockets. When preparing a heavy lift to be discharged from an offshore supply vessel to an offshore installation, the vessel’s AB’s were carrying out final checks, which included checks for any potential dropped objects. During these checks, they discovered some debris within the frame pocket. The items were estimated to weigh approximately 1kg.

What went wrong? What were the causes?

Cargo checks onshore failed to spot the items before the lift had been loaded onto the PSV. This was apparently due to the lift frame positioning on the trailer which may have hampered the checks at the gantry.

What actions were taken? What lessons were learned?

• The potential dropped objects were removed from the pocket and the lift was safely and successfully discharged to the offshore installation;
• This alert highlights the importance of final checks on all lifts prior to discharge offshore even though there had been previous checks onshore.

The full MSF safety alert can be found here.

The MSF notes that further information and guidance on the checking of cargo items for potential dropped objects can be found in ‘Best Practice for the Safe Packing & Handling of Cargo to & from Offshore Locations’ available at www.onshoreoffshorecargo.com.

Dropped objects or potential dropped objects from cargo are a frequent cause of incidents. Users of IMCA Safety Flashes can search the IMCA Safety Flash database themselves using any search word. Please browse to https://www.imca-int.com/alerts/safety-flash/ and enter text in the search box.

Members may wish to refer to the following:

• Saipem DROPS – choice not chance
• Technip DROPS
• Dropped object awareness [MSF, 2016]
• Dropped object incidents [2014]