On July 8, 2015, at 0857 local time, the Singapore-flagged bulk carrier Asia Zircon II was discharging a cargo of wind turbine towers in the Port of Galveston, Texas, when the lifting wire rope for one of the ship's two cranes parted while hoisting a tower section out of the cargo hold. The wire failure caused the tower to fall back into the hold, damaging the tower and other tower sections in the hold. Two of the five longshoremen inside the cargo hold at the time suffered non-life threatening injuries. There was no reported pollution. Damages were estimated to exceed $1.5 million.

​​The probable cause of the failure of the lifting wire rope of crane no. 4 on the bulk carrier Asia Zircon II was inadequate lubrication due to ineffective maintenance resulting in excessive wear of the wire rope.

​​Maintenance of Lifting Gear

• Inspection, maintenance, and management of wire ropes are essential to the prevention of accidents.
• A deteriorated wire rope directly affects the ability to safely and reliably handle loads up to the rated capacity of the crane.
• Crane operators, signalmen, riggers, safety observers, and crewmembers should adhere to manufacturer operating guidelines, design limitations, safety precautions, and inspection and maintenance procedures.

Crane Operations

Workers participating in crane operations should ensure that they remain in a safe area during a hoist. Entering the drop zone while the hoist is in progress ​puts them at risk.