Crane collapses during load tests on offshore installation vessel at Rostock

What happened

On 2 May 2020 the crane on the offshore installation vessel Orion collapsed during load tests at the Liebherr yard in Rostock harbour, Germany. The vessel was under construction, moored at the quayside, and was intended for later use at the Moray East offshore wind farm. The hull was damaged and the crane suffered significant damage. Several minor injuries were reported. The cause was not stated, and investigations were said to be ongoing. The collapse was captured on video.

Contributing factors

The source does not identify a cause. It states only that the crane was undergoing load tests, and that the vessel was under construction and moored at the quayside.

Lessons learned

1. A crane failure during load testing can damage the crane and the vessel and injure people, so the test plan should treat collapse as a credible outcome.
2. After a load-test failure, the owner and any project expecting the vessel should check what is known before assuming the planned entry into service.
3. While an investigation is still open, early accounts should not be treated as a finding of why the crane failed.

Source

northern-times.co.uk