Alert 14 – 09 High Potential Incident – Struck by Dropped Object
Alert 14 – 09 High Potential Incident – Struck by Dropped Object
WHAT HAPPENED:
As part of the plough recovery sequence and whilst spooling a 200 meter (656 feet) pennant onto the storage pocket of an anchor handling winch, a chain guide, weighing 21 kilograms (46 pounds), and two sheared securing bolts dropped a distance of approximately 2 meters (6.5 feet) from the starboard chain motor area. The chain guide struck a member of the deck crew on the brim of his hard hat knocking it off. The chain guard then fell onto his chest causing superficial injuries and ultimately landed, with the sheared bolts, on the vessel deck. Using the Drops Calculator as a benchmark in the classification of the potential consequences of a dropped object, the outcome of this incident could have resulted in a fatality.