Mooring incidents

Mooring vessels is a routine, day to day operation familiar to most crew members. But familiarity can breed contempt and sometimes, seemingly ordinary, routine jobs don’t get the full focus of attention they should and there are accidents, some of them very serious indeed.

This IMCA video has been developed to help raise awareness of the need for safety awareness in mooring practice. It covers some real mooring incidents and explains how things went wrong and how things can be done in the correct way. It explains some important principles for safe mooring, including planning, communication, the proper use of PPE when at work on deck, and a full understanding of hazards such as bights and rope, and danger zones such as snap back zones and potential pinch points.

Vessels moor and cast off every day. It’s such a familiar, standard procedure that the temptation may be to treat it more lightly than other operations. Careful planning, risk assessments, good communications and a constant awareness of what’s around you can all help to make the job safer for everyone concerned.

Translated versions are also available on our YouTube channels:

• In the line of fire – Tagalog version
• In the line of fire – Russian version
• In the line of fire – Brazilian Portuguese version
• In the line of fire – Italian version
• In the line of fire – French version
• In the line of fire – Latin American Spanish version