Lack of regular maintenance of 'out of date' lifejackets may have partly led to malfunction

Donegal firm Sioen Ireland pointed out that most of the lifejackets were actually being used “in excess of their five-year lifespan”. Picture: File

A lack of regular cleaning and maintenance of “out of date” lifejackets used by Irish Coast Guard crews may have been a factor in them malfunctioning, rescue bosses were told.

According to a document seen by the Irish Examiner, the manufacturer of the Rescue 400 lifejackets found signs of corrosion in a review in November 2019.

But Donegal firm Sioen Ireland said it was “not always clear" if the lifejackets supplied to the Irish Coast Guard (IRCG) were routinely rinsed and washed down with fresh water. And they pointed out that most of the lifejackets were actually being used “in excess of their five-year lifespan”.

The issue of malfunctioning lifejackets was highlighted on October 27, 2019, when a number of Rescue 400s did not inflate as quickly as they should have during an exercise.

An unprecedented decision was then taken to temporarily stand down the IRCG’s entire in-shore rescue fleets because of “safety reasons” related to lifejackets in November 2019.

Correspondence on the incident, seen by the Irish Examiner, sheds new light on the decision, which followed a meeting between IRCG bosses and a representative of Sioen.

The Rescue 400 lifejackets that were associated with a malfunction were all nearly seven years old at the time, according to Sioen, having been supplied to the IRCG in January 2013. The recommended life span marked on the labels and in the owner’s information manual is three to five years, but even this is dependent on the "level of use and subject to fair wear and tear."

“This is not just our own advisory limitation but is common standard practice within the marine industry for lifejackets in commercial (or) professional use in a saltwater environment," Sioen said.

The company said it had checked the problematic lifejackets in detail and said they showed signs of “corrosion and deterioration” to studs and zips which, it said, is "inevitable" due to exposure to salt water.

But, they added, “effective maintenance in terms of rinsing and washing them down after each use as per your/our maintenance procedures will help to minimise this”. And they said: “It is not clear to us if this is always being carried out”.

Responding to the decision to stand down crews, Sioen said, "We are also rather disturbed and puzzled that we were not advised of the concern at the time of the incident on October 27. We were not given a chance to investigate and respond before a decision was made to suspend operations and public statements were made to the press.

“This is also very damaging to our name and reputation.” 

Sioen was subsequently awarded a contract to resupply the IRCG with new lifejackets in a contract estimated to have been worth at least €200,000.

A Department of Transport said: “The decision to withdraw lifejackets was taken following a reported malfunction of a number of lifejackets during an exercise.

“The reported malfunction was failure to fully deploy the inflatable bladder.”