PORTLAND (AP) – The U.S. Coast Guard has issued an advisory that warns ships around the world to avoid using the type of lifeboat equipment that was involved in a fatal accident in Portland Harbor this month.

One man was killed and two others injured Jan. 13 when an enclosed lifeboat plunged about 60 feet into the harbor while being raised to its resting spot atop a giant oil-drilling rig in the final stages of construction. The men had been testing the boat and were inside it when the boat’s two hooks somehow disconnected from the cables lifting it into the air.

The Coast Guard’s Office of Investigations and Analysis in Washington, D.C., issued the written advisory to the maritime industry on Wednesday. It describes details of the Portland accident and says the investigation is ongoing, but it also makes clear that the hook release mechanisms, called Camsafe, are a prime suspect and a potential danger to others.

Coast Guard officials stopped short of blaming the accident on the hook mechanisms used on some lifeboats made by Norsafe, a major manufacturer based in Norway. But investigators have found that the mechanisms may look like they are safely secured to the cables when they could in fact release without warning.

“There’s a recognition that it’s a cause for concern,” said Lt. Matthew McCann of the Coast Guard’s Marine Safety Office in Portland.

Norsafe is a major international supplier of lifeboat equipment. It started using Camsafe release mechanisms on its lifeboats in 2000, and the equipment is believed to be in wide use aboard large oceangoing ships, according to the Coast Guard.

Norsafe officials could not be reached Wednesday to respond to the advisory.

The accident in Portland killed 49-year-old Andrew Caldwell and injured two co-workers. The three men were from Nova Scotia and had been hired as part of the crew preparing to take the rig, Pride Rio de Janeiro, to sea.

Investigators searching for the cause of the accident found that the three men inside the lifeboat appeared to follow regular procedures when they guided cables into the hooks, which are mounted on the outside of the boats. One man used a lever to lock both hooks and the two others looked at the hooks to make sure the cables were in place and secured.

After the accident, the lever was found to be in the locked position even though the hooks had released. Further investigation found that the control lever could be locked even when the hooks are not totally secure.

“In this condition, the mechanism can appear upon casual examination to be locked and…it could bear a significant load. However, the hook can in fact release at any time without warning,” the safety alert said.

The advisory included detailed descriptions and photographs of the hooks to help mariners determine whether they are safely secured. It said mariners should inspect lifeboats to see if they are fitted with Camsafe hooks and then check to make sure they are safely secured to their ships.

Finally, the advisory said unnecessary practice drills or use of the boats should be avoided until the investigation is complete and authorities decide how to correct the Camsafe release mechanism.

AP-ES-01-29-04 0216EST