Crew member suspended above deck by lifting equipment

On a CTV (Crew Transfer Vessel), a crew member’s work restraint lanyard became entangled in a hook and wire sling, and the crew member was lifted off the deck. The incident happened during lifting operations offshore at a wind turbine. A deckhand and trainee deckhand were both on deck receiving a load of four lifting bags, attached by a three-leg wire sling. The trainee landed the load, detached the load from the slings, and signalled the crane operator to raise the lifting equipment. As the hook and wire sling raised, it became entangled within the trainee’s work restraint lanyard, and he immediately gave the signal to emergency stop. The crane operator neither saw nor heard the signal, so the trainee was lifted from the deck. The trainee’s weight freed the entanglement, and the crew member fell unharmed between 1 to 2 metres onto a group of lifting bags on deck. 

Our Member noted the following:

• The crew member’s lanyard was worn in a loose position where it could become easily snagged.
• The crew member was too close to the lifting equipment when it was raised, without a tag-line or holding onto the equipment to guide it free of entanglement.
• The crane operator neither saw nor responded to the emergency stop signal.

The potential consequences of a major injury or worse were present had the crew member been lifted higher, outboard of the vessel, or without a cushioned landing.