A tanker had docked at port and a preloading meeting was being held. About forty minutes after mooring was completed, an officer on a safety round discovered that one of the aft mooring lines had unspooled from its drum and had been lost overboard.
The Nautical Institute gathers reports of maritime accidents and near-misses. It then publishes these so-called Mars (Mariners’ Alerting and Reporting Scheme) Reports (anonymously) to prevent other accidents from happening. This is one of these reports.
The officer informed the personnel at the meeting and crew were mobilised to recover the line with the help of a mooring boat and a tug. The line was recovered and re-installed.
Also read: ‘Treat mooring lines as you would a loaded gun’
Investigation findings
The investigation revealed that the drum control lever had been left slightly in the release direction. The drum had then slowly slowly un-spooled by itself after crew had left the aft mooring station. Normally, the spring loaded control lever of the mooring winch would catch at the detent notch that ensures a neutral position. In this case, the lever had not been placed in the neutral position.
Also read: Nautical Institute: Stay out of the ‘line of fire’ when working with mooring lines
Advice from The Nautical Institute
- Check and re-check the mooring station and machinery before leaving.
- Safety rounds are a good practice and should be encouraged by senior shipboard leaders.
Also read: Two tanker mooring lines caught in bow thruster
Mars Reports
This accident was covered in the Mars Reports, originally published as Mars 202454, that are part of Report Number 384. A selection of the Mars Reports are also published in the SWZ|Maritime magazine. The Nautical Institute compiles these reports to help prevent maritime accidents. That is why they are also published (in full) on SWZ|Maritime’s website.
More reports are needed to keep the scheme interesting and informative. All reports are read only by the Mars coordinator and are treated in the strictest confidence. To submit a report, please use the Mars report form.
Also read: ‘Safe working with mooring lines needs a turnaround in thinking’
