Near-miss: Fault spotted in subsea lifting wire

What happened?

During diving operations at 10 msw, it was noticed that there was a slight gap in the lay of the diver launch and recovery (LARS) clump weight wire. The diver was asked to visually inspect the affected area. It was observed on the divers’ helmet camera, and afterwards confirmed by the diver, that no rope strand was broken, only that there was strand protrusion from the rope lay/weave. The following day the rope was re-checked by the dive team & client and a few strands of the clump weight rope were found to be out of the rope lay/weave.

What lessons were learnt, and what actions were taken?

• Ropes should be monitored frequently to avoid stress due to uneven movements and weather conditions, and an appropriate record kept;
• Ropes and sockets should be inspected before each dive;
• Any small defects, damage or abnormality on ropes should be reported immediately;
• Load testing should be carried out as appropriate after any changes and terminations;
• Precautions should be in place to avoid stress on ropes during diving caused by weather conditions.
• Ropes with core or strand protrusion should be immediately discarded or, provided the remaining length of rope is in a serviceable condition, have the affected section removed.

Members may also wish to review the following:

• Damaged wire rope slings
• Partial parting of a bell main lift wire
• Guidelines for lifting operations