Lifeboat 'faulty from the start'

A release mechanism on a Navy lifeboat had been faulty since it entered service but was not discovered until a lifeboat plunged into Sydney Harbour last year, a court of inquiry has found.

The lifeboat on the Navy supply ship HMNZS Endeavour landed upside down in the water on August 16, injuring 16 of the 22 crew members on board.

Some had to be rescued semi-conscious from the water by other Endeavour crew members and Royal Australian Navy sailors.

A Navy court of inquiry released its report yesterday which said no single cause could be blamed for the accident.

It said the faulty mechanism, incorrect launching drills by the lifeboat crew and the lack of a properly fitted safety indication guard all contributed to the accident.

The faulty release mechanism failed to lock properly when the lifeboat was lifted from the water.

It was either a design fault or a manufacturing error and would have been on both Endeavour's lifeboats since they entered service.

The Navy's maritime component commander, Commodore Jack Steer, who assembled the court of inquiry, said all 16 of the inquiry's recommendations would be implemented and no one would be disciplined.

The Navy said that as a result of the findings it was also repositioning safety and operating signs and developing or buying new training equipment, improving procedures for using lifeboats, including training, maintenance and operations, and reviewing policy and training for all Navy ship lifesaving gear.

The court said crew members who dived into the water to rescue injured sailors exemplified the Navy's core values of commitment, courage and comradeship, and noted valuable support by the Australians.

- NZPA