(WASHINGTON) — On April 3, 2025, about 2145 local time, the offshore construction vessel Island Venture’s crane was being used to lift a wire reel from the back deck of the offshore supply vessel C Enforcer in Bayou Lafourche, Port Fourchon, La. The crane’s hoisting wire parted, causing the reel to drop onto C Enforcer’s main deck. There were no injuries and no pollution was reported. Damage to C Enforcer and Island Venture was estimated to be $3.8 million.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) determined that the probable cause of the failure of the hoisting wire was internal corrosion.
“After the casualty, the parted hoisting wire was visually examined by Coast Guard and National Transportation Safety Board investigators. The visual examination revealed oxidation (rust) of the external and internal strands of the hoisting wire,” the NTSB said. “The outer layer of the remaining hoisting wire on board that was examined had minimum and intermittent aged grease coverage. The hoisting wire had been in service for eight years, and during its service life, the wire was used in subsea operations and exposed to salt water, salt air, and humid conditions. These conditions can strip the lubricating grease from a wire, and, if salt water is not removed, it can cause oxidation and/or corrosion.
“Because the wire was 13,451 feet (4,100 meters) in length, a visual examination for corrosion would have been difficult to complete. Instead, a sample of the wire was regularly break-tested to verify its breaking strength and, thus, whether corrosion could be present. The hoisting wire had two break tests over its life (the last occurring nine months before the casualty). Once the company identified that the wire’s breaking strength had decreased from its original breaking strength, they derated the crane to a SWL of 320 MT.”
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– National Transportation Safety Board
