The U.S. Coast Guard is urging vessel owners and operators to pay closer attention to the condition of aging fiberglass lifeboats following a casualty in which a 23-year-old boat suffered a structural failure and unintentionally released while being lowered.
In a Sept. 2 Safety Alert, the Coast Guard said that fiberglass supporting the lifeboat’s forward hook assembly failed during launch, allowing a metal backing plate to pull free. The failure caused the locking mechanism to rotate and the hook to open, sending the lifeboat into the water and resulting in its total loss.
“This failure occurred despite regular, manufacturer-recommended inspections,” the Safety Alert said.
The lifeboat in question was built in June 2002, and investigators found that its age and prolonged exposure to the marine environment contributed to degradation and eventual failure of the fiberglass structure. Neither current U.S. regulations nor the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea establishes a maximum service life for lifeboats, according to the Coast Guard, and the manufacturer had not specified a recommended service life for the model.
The Coast Guard recommended thorough inspections of release mechanisms, particularly hook assemblies, for compromised or delaminated fiberglass between metal backing plates and attachment points. Components showing excessive wear, corrosion, cracking, deformation or other damage should be replaced.
High-stress and load-bearing areas should receive additional scrutiny and be inspected while under load, USCG said, to identify structural deficiencies that might otherwise go undetected.
