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1. This circular is issued to highlight the safety concerns arising from the incident involving the loss of a free‑fall lifeboat due to accidental release.

Recently, an incident involving the loss of a free‑fall lifeboat was reported due to accidental release on a ship during passage on a laden voyage. Although the free‑fall lifeboat had been confirmed to be in position at the time of departure, it was subsequently observed by a crew member to be missing from its stowed position. Later search operations initiated, and the vessel was turned back on a reciprocal course. After approximately one hour of retracing the route, the lifeboat was sighted adrift, and through careful maneuvering, the crew successfully retrieved it back onto the davit.

Although the lifeboat found to be intact and in usable condition, the incident nevertheless resulted in the temporary absence of the required Life‑Saving Appliance (LSA) equipment onboard, thereby raising concerns regarding the overall safety of life at sea.

2. The investigation established that the free‑fall lifeboat was accidentally released as a result of excessive wear and aging of the releasing hook, which caused it to slip from the holding cam without hydraulic actuation.

Failure to timely identify and replace the excessively worn and aging releasing hook resulted in the accidental release of the survival craft.

3. Based on key lessons learned from this incident, implementing the following measures can significantly mitigate the risk of recurrence:

a. Conducting thorough inspection of lifeboat and release mechanisms and associated equipment to confirm satisfactory condition including adequacy of lifeboat hooks, release gear, and securing arrangements.

b. Implementing fleet wide review of lifeboat securing and release arrangements, with emphasis on free fall systems.

c. Conducting thorough inspection & periodic servicing of lifeboat/survival crafts, their release mechanisms, hydraulic systems, and securing arrangements in accordance with OEM specifications and in accordance with statutory requirements.

d. Establishing preventive maintenance schedules aligned with OEM recommendations and industry best practices.

e. Ensuring that crew training adequately covers safe boarding procedures, including the mandatory use of temporary lashings during inspection and maintenance, as well as crew awareness regarding their removal upon completion in order to maintain readiness for emergency launching.

f. Ensuring crew training programs explicitly cover free fall lifeboat release systems, safety pins, and emergency procedures.

g. Mandating risk assessments for lifeboat operations, including checks on securing devices before departure.

h. Undertaking review of records of lifeboat inspections, maintenance schedules, and service reports for compliance with OEM and statutory requirements.

i. Circulating lessons learned from similar incidents and near‑misses across the fleet to reinforce awareness and prevent recurrence.

4. Owners & Managers are to take note of above in order that corrective actions can be taken to avoid similar situations in future.

Enclosure: NIL

This Technical Circular and the material contained in it is provided only for the purpose of supplying current information to the reader and not as an advice to be relied upon by any person. While we have taken utmost care to be as factual as possible, readers/ users are advised to verify the exact text and content of the Regulation from the original source/ issuing Authority.                     

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