Following concerns in the UK, the Health & Safety at Work Inspectorate and the Isle of Man Office of Fair Trading are offering the following safety advice concerning throw bag rescue lines to the owners/operators of commercial and recreational craft, as well as rowing clubs, swimming clubs, adventure centres and other users.
The UK’s Marine Accident Investigation Branch has issued a safety warning about defective throw bag rescue lines.
Here is a link to the warning: https://www.gov.uk/maib-reports/safety-warning-about-defective-throw-bag-rescue-lines.
The potentially serious consequences of a rescue line failing in a lifesaving situation are obvious.
Rescue lines should be inspected and tried regularly to ensure that they are fit for the purpose. They should then be repacked according to the manufacturer’s instructions to ensure that they deploy freely from the bag when required.
In particular, the entire length of the rescue line should be examined for joins or other discontinuities. This can be done using bare hands to identify rough patches or lumps.
Knots, splices or other methods of securing the end of a line should also be checked for integrity.
Any rescue line found to defective, i.e. having any join, discontinuity or other issue with its integrity, should be taken out of use immediately. The issue should initially be reported to the OFT, telephone +44 1624 686500.
