Fatal Fall During Bunker Operations

Summary

On 19 June 2016, an engineer from the container vessel HS Rossini, was fatally injured when he fell on the deck of bunker barge Smit Bongani.

HS Rossini had arrived in Durban, South Africa for container operations. While at berth, barge Smit Bongani manoeuvred alongside HS Rossini to supply bunkers. The bunker hose was connected and the third engineer climbed down the pilot ladder to read the fuel flow meter. On his way back, he fell off the pilot ladder to the deck of Smit Bongani and sustained fatal head injuries.

The cause of the fall was neither related to the vessel’s operations nor to defects in the ladder, which was being used.

However, the safety investigation analysed the situation from the perspective of missing barriers which would have otherwise prevented the fall to the barge.

The MSIU has issued two recommendations to the Company designed to enhance safety of crew members working aloft and over the ship’s sides.

Actions Taken

1. Risk assessments have to be carried out before any work aloft and during the night is carried out;
2. Work may only be carried out by two crew members two ensure that one of the crew members is overseeing the other;
3. Additional safety equipment, including a safety harness, has to be utilised; and
4. The accident is discussed on board all vessels as part of an additional safety meeting.

Conclusions

1. The immediate cause of the fall was neither related to the operations of the vessel nor to the actions or omissions of the crew member involved;
2. Half way up the ladder, the crew member momentarily paused, lost his hold on the ladder and fell down;
3. The crew member may have found himself in a situation where he had to choose between either going through an ‘extensive’ checklist and preparation of other personal safety equipment, or go down the bunker supply barge and on board his ship again to commence the bunkering operation;
4. The crew member’s perception of climbing the ladder was of a very straight forward task;
5. It was impossible to lower the rescue boat (on port side) to reach the bunker barge because the ship was moored port side alongside;
6. Delaying the checks of the flow meter would have meant delaying the bunkering operation and possibly not fitting with the time slots, which the bunker supply barge had for the rest of the night;
7. Time was a resource which the third engineer felt he did not have in abundance;
8. Taking the risk to go down the pilot ladder without going through the necessary procedure to use a safety harness, had immediate and tangible results, which outweighed the benefits of other possible options.

Recommendations

Taking into consideration the findings of this safety investigation and the safety actions already taken, Hansa Shipping GmbH & Co. KG. is recommended to assist crew members:

• in the preparation of a risk assessment for bunkering operations;
• in the use of a safety harness when using the pilot ladder.

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Source: Transport Malta

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