Lifting, deck and access gearLesson 4 of 10
Wire rope on cranes and derricks – inspection and discard
You will be able to inspect a running wire rope, recognise the discard signs and check that a replacement rope is properly certified.
15 minutes · For signed-up learners, free · Rules checked 20 October 2026
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Wire rope fails from the inside out. Broken wires hide in the valleys between strands, corrosion eats the core where no one can see it, and a rope that looks merely dirty can have lost a large part of its strength. When a hoist rope parts, the load falls and the rope whips back with enormous energy.
That is why both the ILO code of practice and the SOLAS lifting appliance guidelines point to one international standard for the discard decision, ISO 4309, and why certification of the rope itself is one of the items a thorough examination checks. This lesson shows what to look for and when the answer is “replace it now”.
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The rest of this lesson, the interactive Keep, check or discard? and the quiz are open to signed-up learners. It's free, takes a minute, and opens every lesson in all 14 courses.
In this lesson
- Try it: Keep, check or discard?
- In plain words
- In detail
- What the rules say
- Flag and class notes
- Key numbers
- What inspectors find
- Questions people ask
- Quiz: 6 questions
Sources
- 1 ILO, Safety and health in ports, ILO code of practice (2005), sections 4.2.3, 4.2.4 and 5.2.1.2. https://www.ilo.org/sites/default/files/wcmsp5/groups/public/%40ed_protect/%40protrav/%40safework/documents/normativeinstrument/wcms_107615.pdf
- 2 IMO MSC.1/Circ.1663, Guidelines for lifting appliances (28 June 2023), Annex, paragraphs 3.5.1.4, 3.5.1.5 and 4.6 (copy hosted by ABS). https://ww2.eagle.org/content/dam/eagle/Images/rules-and-resources/regulatory-updates/solas-requirements/guidelines-hyperlinks/msc1-circ1663-guidelines-for-lifting-appliances%20%284%29.pdf
- 3 ISO 4309:2017, Cranes, Wire ropes, Care and maintenance, inspection and discard, 5th edition (November 2017), scope and clause 6 discard criteria (paid standard; catalogue entry). https://online.standard.no/en/iso-4309-2017
- 4 ILO model forms under Convention No. 152, Form No. 4 (Certificate of test and thorough examination of wire rope), instructions on the reverse, as published by the Danish Maritime Authority. https://www.dma.dk/Media/637721290870425149/Lifting%20Appliances%20-%20Certificates.doc
- 5 Liberia Maritime Authority, Marine Notice SAF-020 Rev. 12/25, paragraph 2.2.4. https://www.liscr.com/marketing/liscr/media/liscr/online%20library/maritime/saf-020.pdf
Free awareness training. Al Safwan Marine is not an approved training provider, so no certificate is given, and these courses are not a qualification. They don't replace STCW training, manufacturer training or the certification technicians need for this work. The manufacturer's manual and your flag's rules always come first.
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This lesson is also published by our sister site vslsafety.com.
