Anchor drop failure - video

[aphilipmarcou]

the breaks failed on the lowering gear. the chain is what actually holds the vessel due to the huge mass. the chain is then fastened to the bottom of the chain locker. once the breaks fail the mass of the chain hanging even if the end is on the sea floor will bull it out like that. can go much more wrong than that, ie. holes in hulls\

I was there when the same thing happened in 1975 on the semi submersible oil rig "Chris Chenery" in the North Sea: the operator is only supposed to "drop" the anchor when the hoist is in gear and not just let it go and rely on the brakes only.....This was a brand new rig with 8 anchors (2 at each corner). Sleeping crew got an instant wake up.....Someone failed to read the operator's manual (