The tug master could not see the officer-incharge on the tankers deck and had no direct communication

with him. On the tugs bridge, the chief engineer was controlling the towing winch and he started to pay out the tow rope as he saw the tanker take up the slack in the messenger line. As the eye of the tow rope approached the panama eye, the tug master noticed the crew on the tanker had stopped removing the fire-wire from the bitts intended for the tow rope. He was unable to see that this was because the messenger line had become taut on the inboard side of the bitts. Concerned that his tow rope would be damaged if placed on the same bitts as a wire, he told the chief engineer not to give out too much line. He then used his loud hailer to tell

the tankers crew to remove the fire-wire and, at about the same time, the chief engineer stopped veering the tow rope. Nobody on board the tanker heard the tugs loud hailer. The crew immediately near the bitts saw the messenger line become very tight, and stepped back. Shortly after, the messenger line parted between the panama eye and the bitts. The officer-in-charge, standing in the line of recoil further aft, was hit across the legs by the parting messenger line. He suffered fractures to both legs, his collarbone and his wrist, and needed immediate blood transfusion on arrival in hospital. Fortunately, operations on his legs were successful and both were saved.

The Lessons
1. This accident was a consequence of some very poor seamanship practices. No matter how concerned you are about damage to your tow rope, you must never stop paying out the line without warning. In this case, putting the tow rope on top of the fire-wire would not have caused any immediate damage, and the tug master could have instructed, via the tankers bridge, that the fire-wire be removed from the bitts before he took the strain. 2. It was discovered after the accident that there were 16 turns on the drum end; far too many. Three or four turns are all that are recommended, and the line must be tended so that it can be allowed to surge if load suddenly comes on the line. Using a drum end as a winch, and expecting the controller to react quickly enough to stop heaving or pay out the line, is highly dangerous. 3. It is very poor practice to place a rope and wire on the same bitts. The loads exerted by modern tugs through their

tow ropes can be enormous, and the towing eye must therefore be as low down the bitts as possible. Do not be lazy if a fire-wire or other wire is normally stored on the bitts, and try to leave half of the turns on. 4. Consider the line of recoil when deciding where to stand. Thinking about the problem beforehand will enable dangerous positions to be highlighted, and hopefully avoided. 5. Good communication is key to safe operations on board ship. In this accident, there was no communication between the tug and the aft deck of the tanker. It is essential the officer-incharge on deck establishes basic communications with the tug, via hand signals if necessary, to keep control of operations. 6. The officer-in-charge on deck must monitor and manage his mooring team effectively. Becoming physically involved in operations detracts from overseeing them and ensuring the safety of all personnel, including the supervisor.