A general cargo vessel finished loading a cargo of cement. The 2/O climbed onto the cargo hatch coaming and stepped towards the gap between the crane and the stacked hatch covers. The 2/O was trapped and crushed between the hatch covers and the crane’s ladder access platform.
Incident
A general cargo vessel finished loading a cargo of cement in the early morning and the deck crew were cleaning cement dust from the top of the cargo hatch coamings. This task had to be completed and the hatch covers replaced prior to sailing.
When the Master told the C/O of the revised plan, the C/O advised that he would need all available hands to complete the cleaning operation and requested that the 2/O, who was resting, be called back on deck.
The 2/O arrived on deck and commenced sweeping cement dust from the hatch cover landing surface on the starboard side of the aft cargo hold coaming. The C/O was on the gantry crane, moving various hatch covers as required for the work. At one point, the C/O stopped the crane just short of a stack of hatch covers at the forward end of the aft hold and started to raise the crane’s lifting bar. The 2/O climbed onto the cargo hatch coaming and stepped towards the gap between the crane and the stacked hatch covers.
The C/O could not see the 2/O was in a dangerous position, and drove the crane aft. The 2/O screamed out in pain as he was trapped and crushed between the hatch covers and the crane’s ladder access platform.
The deck crew immediately commenced cardio-pulmonary resuscitation. About 20 minutes after the accident, two emergency medical teams, including a doctor, arrived at the scene and took over the resuscitation efforts. Later, the victim was declared deceased due to internal bleeding from organ rupture.
Investigation
During investigation, it was found that
- The toxicology report showed that the victim had more than twice the legal limit of alcohol in his bloodstream. Almost certainly the consumption of alcohol was a significant contributory factor in this accident.
- The safety culture on board the vessel was weak.
- Personnel were working close to moving equipment and unprotected edges, and were not wearing adequate levels of PPE.
- Alcohol consumption on a ship cannot usually go undetected.
Lesson learnt
- Alcohol consumption above the limits set for all mariners via STCW is to be condemned. Many companies have now adopted ‘dry-ship’ practice in order to help in the practical management of this norm.
- A strong safety culture is not a guarantee of zero accidents, but it is a bulwark against many potential bad outcomes.
- In this instance it was found that emergency stops for the gantry crane were not in sufficient number and those that were installed were badly positioned.
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Source: nautinst.org
