Safety Failures Lead to Court
His Honour Judge Elwen at Truro Crown Court sentenced George Pill Sr., 61, to six months jail for each of the two offenses he plead guilty to and costs of £8,500. On the 22nd August 2008 a Surveyor from the Maritime & Coastguard Agency (MCA) was conducting an audit on the small Class V passenger vessel, the Haven Rose in the port of Falmouth. It became apparent that the vessels liferaft was overdue for servicing and the hydrostatic release unit (HRU) was past its expiry date. The Surveyor found the serial number of the liferaft had been obliterated and servicing data was attached to the label using yellow embossed Dymo tape instead of the normal black printed lettering on white tape. Further enquiries showed that the liferaft should have been serviced in December 2007.
LR Issues Technical Alert
The following technical alert has been issued today by classification society Lloyd's Register. The United States Coast Guard (USCG) has identified serious manufacturing defects in hydrostatic release units (HRU) manufactured by Song Zhu in Dalian, People's Republic of China, and found on board a ship visiting US waters. The HRU's labelled 'Song Zhu Dalian P.R.C.', model HR-R, have not been approved by Lloyd's Register. During recent routine maintenance in the U.S., the HRU's on board were returned to a lifesaving equipment service facility, for replacement due to damaged parts. Subsequent detailed examination and testing of the HRU's by the USCG revealed excessive deterioration of the painter slicing blade, rendering it ineffectual when activated.
