Even if we assume that the team believed that the winches could withstand winds of up to 35 knots, and therefore agreed to what is stated in section 48 of the checklist, this does not lead to the conclusion that the release of cables and ropes that actually occurred in this case necessarily indicates a failure of the winches.
This is because the evidence shows that the wind speed to which the winch is exposed at a particular moment is only one of many factors that affects its ability to withstand the loads to which it is exposed, while among other factors are the direction of the wind, the angle at which the wind meets the winch, the shape of the ship, the length of time the ship is exposed to the winds, and more (see Mr. Mann's testimony on the subject, on pages 13-14 of the transcript of the meeting, and the expert testimony of Mr. Golan on page 23 of the transcript of the meeting).
In this case, the fact that the cables and ropes were released not in one fell swoop but as a result of a rolling event, attests to the fact that this occurred not necessarily due to a momentary load if one of the winches had been exposed and at which it was supposed to stand, but as a result of a combination of several factors, including the direction of the wind, its intensity, the angle at which it met the winch and the ship, and the prolongation of the exposure over time.
Therefore, it cannot be said that the mere release of the cables from the winches attests to a failure or defect in them, even given what is stated in section 48 of the check list.
- Reinforcement for this conclusion is found in a number of pieces of evidence referred to by the defendant, from which it appears that the ship underwent a number of proper tests, including from the safety aspect, from April 2015 to October 2015 (several weeks before the event that is the subject of the lawsuit), which revealed proper findings, including of the ropes and winches equipment.
Thus, in April 2015, the winches underwent safety checks and were found to be in good working order (see Appendices 6-7 to the affidavit of the ship's captain). In this context, I will note that I have not lost sight of the fact that several months have passed since that examination until the incident, during which it is difficult to know what happened to those winches and brake pads, but this fact is brought to strengthen the conclusion that there is no priori indication of the failure of the winches.