Three Dead, One Injured in Lifeboat Accident on Malaysian FSO

On Saturday, three men were killed and one was injured aboard a rig off Malaysia during maintenance work on a lifeboat, according to Ekonomi Rakyat.

At about 1250 hours Saturday afternoon, four contractors boarded a lifeboat for a maintenance check at the Sepat FSO unit off the east coast of peninsular Malaysia, a busy region or offshore oil and gas production. A parted wire rope or hook system mishap (initial accounts differ) caused it to fall into the water below, according to local media accounts.

The four victims were evacuated to a hospital in Kuala Terengganu. Three were pronounced dead when they arrived at about 1800 hours, and the fourth remains under close monitoring.

The deceased have been identified as Ahmad Fikri Zakaria, 38; Nik Muhammad Hafifi Asri Ab Majid, 37; and Muhammad Faezuan Hakim Mohammad Bustamam, 28, according to the New Straits Times.

Bustamam's wife, Nurkhaeryna Dhania Azreen Khairil Azri, told local outlet Sinar that she had just heard from her husband on the morning of the accident. "This morning he WhatsApped me saying he couldn't wait to go home and wanted to take a vacation," she said. "After I replied to the message, he didn't respond at all."

Initial reports suggested that the incident involved a lifeboat drill, but Petronas later confirmed that the casualty occurred during maintenance.

Lifeboats are among the most dangerous appliances aboard merchant ships: because of their height above the waterline, there are steep consequences for any mechanical fault. Corrosion, fatigue, wear and human error - exacerbated in some cases by system design shortcomings - all create an opportunity for a fall.

By the nature of their function, lifeboats are often used with multiple people on board, increasing the impact of any one incident. In decades past, lifeboat drill failures were responsible for an estimated one out of six seafarer deaths, and claimed hundreds of lives over the years. Accidents during exercises caused so many fatalities that IMO authorized masters to keep crew off of lifeboats during abandon-ship drills. This policy regularly saves lives, but has not eliminated risk: crewmembers or contractors still need to go aboard lifeboats periodically in order to conduct routine maintenance.