Low loader carrying machinery on Scottish ferry service . Load topples over during voyage landing onto cars..
Who you reckon is at fault ?obviously driver will get blame. But he’s obviously secured his load and drove it onto the ferry from where ever he started from .
If they hi t bad weather surely can’t fully blame driver ok he should maybe used a few more straps than normal..
But can’t fully blame him can you?
Look at the number of chains seem to be hold the trailer down. Were those put on after the load fell off? If not then the crew were expecting a rough crossing.
The loading officers may give a quick look at trucks going on board, but normally it is assumed that loads are secured correctly onto trailers.
I have been on ferries when the trestles under dropped trailers have collapsed. The ride on boats is worse than you would get from the worst cowboy driver on the road.
Machinery needs more than a few straps to secure it properly.
I don’t know what was holding the load onto the trailer, and will not guess, but straps would not be enough. Possibly it was chained, but the chains broke.
I would say that both the loading officer’s and the driver’s roles will be looked at closely. Maybe neither did anything wrong, maybe both did.
It appears that the ship’s cargo…ie the truck… was chained down very well.
It appears that the trucks cargo…ie the machine… was not so well secured.
“When a vehicle is carried on a ship, as in roll-on, roll-off ferry operations, the vehicle and its load will be subject to forces due to the rolling and pitching motions of the vessel. A restraint system that is suitable for road use will not necessarily be adequate at sea.”
The ferries can move enough to roll an unchained vehicle over. The load must be attached to the trailer enough to cope with that.
Imagine driving around a roundabout, and picking the trailer wheels up… the load needs to withstand that…and withstand that for hundreds of times over a few hours.
The load is a crusher similar to this one waiting at Uig Ferry Port Isle of Skye for the 1hr 45min crossing to Lochmaddy Ferry Port Isle of North Uist Outer Hebridies June this year.
Imagine if the cars weren’t there to cushion the blow as it tipped over.
If cars weren’t there could maybe caused serious damage to the ferries floor /hull
On a serious note, I see some of the chains on that trailer in the Mac Civils pic are running from the trailer outward to the load, I’m inclined to think that would be less able to withstand force sideways on the cargo, but not sure if that has real basis or not.
I would guess that the problems with that type of load, especially on a ferry, would be high C of G and no sideways resistance on the cat tracks.
The whole thing reminds me of some ladies I have known who could have been described as ‘crushers’, were top heavy and probably should have been chained down!
From that piccie we can’t see what is under the load.
There could be paired chains pulling the load across the load (crossed from opposite sides) holding it in place.
In the BBC link there appears to be a rubber anti slip mat there? If so good.
Thanks Oily, I was having trouble identifying the load, was thinking road profiler. @maoster I knew someone would mention a sheet, I should’ve known it’d be you.
The ship’s crew use the ship’s short chains to secure the vehicles to the ship. They are trained to use the equipment they have to attach vehicles to decks. Do you suggest that ship’s crew carry longer chains and become trained in how to secure various pieces of machinery etc?
Chaining down a vehicle to the deck, using the correct lashing points, is relatively easy. Chaining down a load is not easy.
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One other thought is suspension.
When on ferries, although not often done, it is best to drop all air out of the vehicle suspension. If air drops out of the system, the vehicle will lower and the chains will become slack.
That is a local firm and certainly no cowboy outfit and well used to that particular ferry crossing and the vagaries of that stretch of water, a confluence of tides North and Atlantic seas makes it quite rough at times.
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