Troubleshooter
Last time when I was on board besides inspection of the deck cranes also I checked aft provision deck crane. In fact, the crew complained that the electrical main power cable was twisted.
Provision deck crane is an important equipment on board of vessels neglected most of the times. It’s used very often and without it lot of jobs will be done with man muscle and unwanted delays will occur.
I went there to check and look what I got. The main electrical cable was twisted and in short, time could break if no immediate action was taken.
The limit switch was neglected and the provision deck crane was fully rotated several times. And it was very simple to do it with the help of a push button on the operating control unit. The guys who operate the crane they just used to push that button and the limit switch was bypass and the crane turn 360° without any problem.
Instead of turning the crane to the initial position and then parked it, they ignore the limit. Electrical power cable becomes twisted and God knows what could happen.
The idea of that limit switch is to prevent collision between crane jib and accommodation also to protect electrical connections from being damaged.
Replacing of cable was not an option, it was not available on board. I disconnecting the cable and arranged properly one by one. I made a big remark in my report and also discussed with person in charge to pay attention in the future.
Also, I recommended replacing the main power cable of the provision deck crane as soon as possible because the twisted issues could have damaged the wiring.
