Crew injured as lifeboat plunges from ship

[teefleur]

In today's Royal Gazette in Bermuda...

 

http://www.theroyalgazette.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20040908/NEWS/109080042

[brn2crz]

Rough week for RCI...Those poor crew members.

[Heidict]

Oh, those poor people. I hope everyone recovers and is okay.

[PhoenixCruiser]

Very sad indeed...

 

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[JanetMarie]

I have watched the crews doing "drills," and they have always erred on the side of caution. I hope everything works out for them.

[JuniorCruiser]

How very sad :( I hope they all have a very speedy recovery :)

[jstducky]

i heard that this week while on her transatlantic sailing, Jewel of the Seas also experienced the death of a crew member after the crew member plunged 3 stories and broke his neck.

 

the passengers on the ship were so saddened by the event they have started a collection fund for him and the money will be sent to his family for his memorial.

[LLM]

That is so sad. I hope they have a speedy recovery as well.

 

Lisa

[mojo4trav]

An exerpt of the article...

***

Although the investigation had not been completed, Mr. Currie said the accident would seem “potentially to be caused by a “mal-operation of an onboard release mechanism.”

“But an investigation by the Department of Maritime Administration is still ongoing,” he said.

He said he is going back to the ship today to continue his investigation and a representative of the manufacturers of the type of lifeboat used on the Empress of the Seas will also be on the ship.

He said the release mechanism is a special thing on the life raft itself and not on board the ship.

“The release mechanism needs to be operated properly,” he said.

However, this kind of release mechanism has “a history of problems,” he said.

There have been numerous accidents not only on cruise ships, but on any ship with these life rafts,” he said.

Mr. Currie and the representative of the life raft manufacturers will be “training staff on the use of these releases today.”

The releases are operated manually but there is a built in safety features to prevent release at the wrong time. Safety features must be followed, and according to Mr. Currie, there is no way the life boat will release before it is in the water.

***

 

Imagine a sinking boat with ALL boats being deployed...I'd say RCCL needs to address this, if it is a common problem with these release mechanisms or a lack of proper training.