Shortened lanyard on MOB beacon
What happened?
The practice of shortening the lanyards on MOB beacons was discovered by someone visiting a vessel. This was accordingly communicated to the Chief mate to be fixed.
If the lanyard is shortened, the MOB beacon may fail to activate, or, if it were activated, the person who fell overboard may find themselves in the potentially hazardous situation of being too close to the heavily smoking MOB beacon while handling the life buoy.
What went wrong?
- There was a lack of understanding of how these Life Buoys operate, as well as failure to perceive relevant hazards;
- There was improper/incomplete inspection of Life Saving Appliances onboard.
Lessons learned
- Check length of similar lanyards attached to MOB beacons; the correct length will be prescribed in the manufacturer’s manual. It should be long enough to allow the life buoy to gain a good inertia after being thrown, before releasing the MOB beacon from its cradle;
- Include check of MOB beacon in planned maintenance schedule.
Safety Event
Published: 15 October 2021
Download: 
IMCA SF 28/21
IMCA Safety Flashes
Submit a Report
IMCA Safety Flashes summarise key safety matters and incidents, allowing lessons to be more easily learnt for the benefit of all. The effectiveness of the IMCA Safety Flash system depends on Members sharing information and so avoiding repeat incidents. Please consider adding [email protected] to your internal distribution list for safety alerts or manually submitting information on incidents you consider may be relevant. All information is anonymised or sanitised, as appropriate.
IMCA’s store terms and conditions (https://www.imca-int.com/legal-notices/terms/) apply to all downloads from IMCA’s website, including this document.
IMCA makes every effort to ensure the accuracy and reliability of the data contained in the documents it publishes, but IMCA shall not be liable for any guidance and/or recommendation and/or statement herein contained. The information contained in this document does not fulfil or replace any individual’s or Member's legal, regulatory or other duties or obligations in respect of their operations. Individuals and Members remain solely responsible for the safe, lawful and proper conduct of their operations.