The Transportation Safety Board has released the results of its investigation into an incident involving a lifeboat on the Northern Ranger in October of 2017 that sent four crewmen to hospital including one man who ended up in the water.

The four crew members were on board a lifeboat on the ferry while the vessel was undergoing operational testing at the dock in Nain.

The forward release hook suddenly let go and the lifeboat swung down, bow first, and ended up hanging over the water. One of the crew members fell through the lifeboat’s forward hatch and into the water. All four crew members were treated in hospital for injuries.

The TSB found that the forward release hook’s safety defence failed and did not meet safety codes. The hook had not been reset according to instructions outlined in the operator’s manual and the operator was left to assume that it was in the locked position because the indicator was obscured.

The TSB outlines similar instances in this province and around the world involving lifeboats.

They include an incident on board the Taverner in Goose Bay in 1993 that resulted in five crew members falling from a lifeboat after the aft falls released, and one on board the Sir Wilfred Grenfell in 1992 that resulted in a lifeboat falling into the water with 12 crew members on board.

View the full report at this link.