Blog / Why does a Fast Rescue Boat davit fail mid-operation?
Why Does a Fast Rescue Boat Davit Fail Mid-Operation?
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MI
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MI Solutions Team | 12 September 2026 |
LSA & FFA Davit Systems Ship Maintenance |
A Fast Rescue Boat davit only earns its keep in an emergency, which is exactly why a fault during routine operation should never be brushed off. When one of our clients reported an issue with their FRB davit, MI Solutions’ LSA & FFA team was called in before it became a bigger problem.
What we found wasn’t a single failure but three separate issues quietly compounding into a davit that could no longer be relied on. Here’s how we traced the cause, what the repair involved, and what it means for davit maintenance more broadly.
Key Takeaways
- Davit faults rarely trace back to one part — this job involved three separate issues compounding into one unreliable system
- Hydraulic valve leaks, a low pressure accumulator, and a faulty control block together caused inconsistent davit performance
- The brake valve, control block, accumulator, and gearbox were individually serviced and bench tested before refitting
- Corroded valves and worn wire ropes were replaced with new, class-approved parts rather than repaired
- A full functional and dynamic load test confirmed the davit was safe to return to service
The Hidden Cost of Ignoring Small Hydraulic Leaks
Hydraulic valve leaks rarely announce themselves loudly. A small drop in pressure here, a slightly slower response there — easy to miss during a routine check, but enough over time to starve an accumulator of pressure and throw off a control block’s ability to regulate flow correctly. That’s exactly the pattern our team uncovered on strip-down: three faults that, on their own, might have gone unnoticed for months, but together were enough to make the davit unreliable under real operating conditions.
Teardown also revealed corroded valves and wire ropes worn beyond acceptable limits. Neither is a component to patch and hope for the best on a life-saving appliance, so both were marked for replacement rather than repair — a decision that matters as much for compliance as it does for reliability.
From Diagnosis to Certified Repair
Once the fault was isolated, the repair followed a disciplined sequence: remove, service, bench test, refit. The brake valve, control block, accumulator, and gearbox were each tested individually against specification before going back onto the davit — one component at a time, not as a group, so a marginal part couldn’t hide behind a passing overall reading.
With everything refitted, the davit went through a full functional test covering raising, lowering, and braking, followed by a dynamic load test to confirm it could perform under real working load. Every result came back satisfactory, and the job data was documented and handed over to the vessel for the ship’s records — the same standard we apply to every davit and LSA job, regardless of scale.
Two Services That Kept This Job In-House
Jobs like this one rarely stay inside a single discipline. The hydraulic diagnosis and repair fell to our LSA & FFA service team, who cover davit brake valves, control blocks, accumulators, gearboxes, wire ropes, and functional and dynamic load testing across Fast Rescue Boats, lifeboats, and life-saving appliances of all major makes.
When corrosion reaches further than hydraulic components — into the davit arm, frame, or valve housings — that’s where our welding and fabrication team steps in, carrying out structural steel repair and precision welding to class requirements, onboard or in-house. Having both under one roof means no waiting on a subcontractor to find out which one a job actually needs.
Have a davit or LSA issue on your vessel? Get in touch with MI Solutions for diagnosis, repair, and load testing, onboard or in-house, across Africa and the Middle East.
📞 +971 4 576 2560 |
✉ info@mi-solutions.in |
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