Two persons overboard from the standby safety vessel Vos Tracker during maintenance of the fast rescue craft
Source: gov.uk (2025-11-27)

Location: North Sea.

Completed preliminary assessment (PA) summary 3/25: Vos Tracker

Synopsis

At 0800 on 25 August 2025, the deck crew of the offshore emergency rescue and response vessel Vos Tracker conducted a toolbox talk to discuss the day’s maintenance tasks. Planned work included the replacement of the lifting strops for the two fast rescue craft (FRC). The weather was good, with a low swell and light winds from the south-south-east.

Although the planned work was initially scheduled for the afternoon, the crew decided to change the FRC lifting strops before midday. A second toolbox talk was held to discuss the strop change. By 1125, the starboard side FRC strop change was completed without issue.

Coxswain A then boarded the port side FRC and disconnected the lifting stops (Figure 1) after the bosun had lowered the davit hook. The FRC was now secured to its cradle only by two bowsing in pennants forward and aft. Coxswain A then progressed changing the aft lifting strops.

At about 1125, coxswain B boarded the port FRC to change the forward strops. Coxswain B found that the lifting strop’s shackle pin was tight and moved aft and outboard in the FRC to collect some tools. In doing so, the combined weight of the two coxswains unbalanced the FRC on its narrow cradle. The FRC tilted, then slipped overboard at 1135. The carabiner connecting the aft bowsing in pennant parted as the FRC skewed and fell. The coxswains jumped into the water and their personal flotation devices automatically inflated. Both narrowly missed being struck by the FRC as it hit the water.

The bosun immediately sounded the general alarm, and the master announced “Man overboard” over Vos Tracker’s public address system. The crew mustered, lifebuoys were deployed and the starboard side FRC was launched. Meanwhile, coxswain B climbed aboard the port side FRC and it was brought alongside Vos Tracker by the vessel’s crew. By 1144, coxswain A had been recovered from the water into the starboard FRC. Both FRCs were subsequently recovered. The port side FRC had sustained hull damage that required a replacement when Vos Tracker berthed 2 days later. Both coxswains were unharmed in the accident.

Findings

The FRC cradle had a narrow outboard arm (Figure 2), which did not adequately support the FRC when there was the combined weight of two people standing on the outboard side of the FRC.

The FRCs were unsecured once the davit hook lifting strops were removed.

No risk assessment was in place for the lifting strop change and no permit to work for working at height had been raised as required by the vessel’s safety management system.

Neither coxswain A nor coxswain B was wearing a safety harness and either a fall arrest or fall restraint tether while working in the FRC.

The toolbox talks for the FRC strop change were ineffective, and evidence suggested that these were a compliance exercise.

The successful change of the strops on the starboard side FRC, and previous strop changes in the same manner, had led the crew to believe that their methodology was safe.

There was no effective supervision of the task due to distraction and hurried execution to complete the work before the watch changeover at midday.

Actions taken

The operator, Vroon Offshore Services Limited, has:
- introduced a procedure and task-specific risk assessment for FRC strop changes
- updated its toolbox talk record card
- reviewed and upgraded the FRC securing arrangements on Vos Tracker and sister vessels
- issued a fleetwide safety alert
- instigated a safety campaign across its fleet of 30 vessels.