MOB boat fell

During a drill an accident occurred with a MOB boat of Schat-Harding make onboard a tanker when at anchorage outside Rotterdam, the Netherlands. Three crewmembers, Safety officer, 1: st Engineer and AB, went into the boat and the AB released the lashings. The safety officer was about to show the 1: st engineer the function of the release hook and when pulling the handle (A) the MOB boat was released and fell from its fixed position in the davit into the water about 14 meters down.

Inspection by the maker and the classification company after the accident shows that the interlock lever (D) from the hydrostatic unit was stuck in the unlocked position. This interlock lever should come automatically back to the locked position by a spring but this automatic return did not function and was found stuck. Thus it was possible to release the boat from its position in the davit.