Transport Malta reports the injury to a crew member, onboard cargo ship, during the cleaning of cargo spaces in the port of Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
What happened
In the afternoon of 26 May 2022, while the vessel was at Rotterdam, deck crew members
were assigned various maintenance tasks around the vessel.
One crew member was cleaning the bulkhead near the stern ramp with pressurised water. He stood inside a basket, secured to the vessel’s forklift truck, and raised to a height. On completing the job, the crew member leaned over to one side to signal to the other crew
member on the deck but fell in the process.
The safety investigation concluded that the centre of gravity of the crew member shifted outboard, causing the basket to break the securing rope and topple over, resulting in the crew member’s fall.
The MSIU has issued one recommendation to the flag State Administration to highlight the dangers of forklift truck operations.
Immediate cause of the accident
Having completed the washing of the section of the bulkhead that was within his reach, it was necessary for the AB to be lowered down to continue with the washing of the lower part of the bulkhead. Due to the loud noise generated by the high-pressure washer machine, he leaned over, towards the right side of the basket, calling out to the bosun, who was a few metres away towards the stern of the vessel. While doing so, the AB’s centre of gravity shifted outboard of the basket, resulting in an unbalancing force acting on the basket, and which caused an additional strain on the rope securing the basket to the FLT. Consequently, the securing rope parted, the (unsecured) basket toppled over, and the AB fell from a height, sustaining serious injuries.
Safety actions taken
Following the accident on board Opaline, following safety actions were taken:
- the chief officer’s standing orders were amended to include the prohibition of man riding while operating the FLT;
- signs to warn the FLT users were posted in the conning position of the FLT;
- the Company issued a Fleetwide Notice to draw the attention of all the crew members on this accident, while reminding crew members of the previous similar occurrence on board
Ysaline; and - a ‘Forklift Familiarisation Checklist’ was introduced in the SMM, prohibiting people from using the FLT to be lifted to higher areas of the vessel.
Recommendations
The Merchant Shipping Directorate is recommended to:
08/2023_R1 publish an Information Notice, highlighting the hazards of forklift operations and drawing attention to this safety investigation report as well as the MSIU’s safety investigation report no. 20/2021.
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Source: Transport Malta
