International MARINE ACCIDENT REPORTING SCHEME
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International MARINE ACCIDENT REPORTING SCHEME MARS REPORT No 160 February 2006 MARS 200604 Fall from Gangway 0220 Vessel all fast. Main shore gangway, which could 0900 Stations called fore and aft. Moorings tended and only be moved up-down vertically and not in a made tight as required. Duty officer on poop deck horizontal direction, nor could it be slewed in any for aft stations and Chief Officer on forward other direction, lowered to correct height. stations. No one was paying any particular Connecting gangway (sometimes referred to as attention near the gangway as it was located on an MOT gangway or formerly known as a brow) main deck and out of view from aft stations and was placed on the main gangway. The other end nobody was expected to visit the ship. of the brow was placed on the ship’s rails and 0918 Main engines tried out ahead/astern. made fast there. The ship’s safety net was used 0920 One person from the Seaman’s Club tried to board and a step ladder was made fast to ship’s railings the vessel, in spite of having been warned by the to facilitate the safe access onto the deck. Also a terminal operator (in his native language) against life buoy with a line was placed near the gangway. doing so, and caused the brow to over balance The gangway was manned at all times by a duty and he fell into the water along with the brow. A.B. The Cadet saw this happen from the forecastle deck and raised the alarm. I immediately rushed to the spot and deployed the lifebuoy. Fortunately, the ladder did not injure the man and just dropped vertically into the water, nor did he get entangled with the net. He managed to haul himself onto the jetty foundation clear of the water. 0925 Ship’s crew managed to haul the brow out of the water by means of ropes. Port authorities and Agent informed. Warm winter jacket and gloves were passed on to the unfortunate victim but he was a lucky man and he climbed onto higher supports underneath the jetty. Shore rescue squad on scene. Passed on hot flask of coffee to the man whilst rescue team were busy deciding on the next course of action. 0955 The 60 year old casualty was finally removed from under the jetty by the rescue squad and taken to hospital for shock treatment. 0300 Commenced cargo operation. The vessel was informed there would be a stoppage in cargo operation at 0830 on account of ‘Bore Tide’ passage at 0930. All safety checks were carried out prior to commencement and were satisfactory. 0815 One hour notice tendered to engineer for preparing the engines. 0820 Cargo loading was suspended by terminal. Ship’s manifold valve was closed. 0830 Chicksan disconnected. Crew given 30mins notice to stand-by on deck at 0900. Manifold blanked-off. Ship’s steering gear tried out. 0845 Brow unlashed from ship’s rails and shoved out onto the shore main gangway, assisted by the terminal operator, who was pulling it from his side on shore, it was left halfway on the main gangway and the other half left overhanging, so that it had a ‘see-saw’ effect and would trip if someone overbalanced it. Also the access to the main gangway was not sealed, nor were there any Lessons learnt: warning signs posted or any barrier erected to deny access to the gangway. 1) Nothing should be taken for granted. In this case, final moorings were to be three headlines and stern the ship and shore took for granted that no-one lines and two springs fore and aft. will be expected to visit the ship and so there was an air of complacency in that the brow was not At 0814, one stern line was ashore and the Master properly removed, nor were there any notices put ordered this to be taken up tight and then pass out the up warning visitors that the gangway was not in remaining lines. Meantime the headlines were still place. being paid out. Apparently there was a problem with the forward winch drum and so the lines were not being 2) Notices should always be displayed or the access paid out as fast as normal. The stern line was already sealed off to all visitors once the ship-shore made fast aft. This line was on the drum and caused access is compromised. the bow to swing out away from the jetty in spite of the tug pushing it alongside. The other stern lines were 3) The terminal operator was slack in his duty and being passed out. During this period, all the headlines was not able to impose his authority to halt the were sent out and were tightened one at a time. But person from trying to board the vessel even after the bow was not coming alongside since the stern line there was no proper access. was already tight and was preventing it from coming in. The Master asked the stern line to be slackened by 4) The person, having been verbally warned, was about two meters. This order was promptly executed apparently not paying attention or had other things and reported back to the Master. on his mind which may have caused him not to take notice of the warning. Also the age-factor In order to send out the additional stern lines, it was may have been the cause that hindered his necessary to pass the heaving line over the other stern hearing ability. line, which had been slackened. For this reason, the A/B was standing next to the stern line and Having said this, it was still the duty of the terminal manipulating the heaving line over it. One moment the operator to physically drag the man away from the stern line was slack and the next it had gone tight and gangway or remove him from the scene. had too much weight on it. Before anyone could realise, the stern line jumped off from under the ‘lip’ of 5) As a Duty Officer at the time of the incident, I feel the fairlead roller and hit the A/B on the right knee cap. guilty and responsible for the accident in spite of Fortunately, the blow was not so hard, and he escaped the fact that the circumstances were entirely with a bruise and swelling which was treated and he beyond my control. could walk unhindered in a few hours. However, the point is that there was an accident involving moorings in 6) The quick and prompt action taken by the ship- spite of repeated warnings and discussions held prior to staff and also the fact that the person was not commencing the operations. injured helped to resolve the situation and bring it under control and get the man out of water. The reason that the stern line became so tight was probably due to the fact that the headlines were being 7) The response of the rescue personnel was tightened. This caused the bow to come alongside satisfactory but could still have been improved as rapidly and the two meter slack that had been rendered it took 30 minutes from the time they arrived on- aft was not enough and caused the stern line to strain scene to the time they finally managed to remove and ‘jump’ from under the ‘lip’ of the fairlead roller. the person from underneath the jetty. 8) Fortunately for the man, he was not injured, not even a scratch, as this accident could easily have cost him his life. MARS 200605 Mooring Injury We picked up the pilot and proceeded to our berth with a strong NW’ly off-shore wind blowing across our bow. The vessel made fast two tugs fore and aft, with tugs lines through the centre Panama leads. The whole operation was being carried out in day-light so there was no excuse of poor lighting. The headlines were the first line to be sent ashore, followed by the aft back- springs. The shore mooring gang consisted of just one person attending the moorings at each end. This did not put any strain on the ship-staff to “hurry-up” the mooring operation. The vessel was nicely alongside and in position with the loading arm. The Lessons learnt: been stripped off are known to be dangerously slippery. The Third Officer was not wearing spiked or studded 1) Whenever any lines are being tightened or boots which are recommended to be worn while slackened, personnel should keep well clear of the walking over such log cargo. area. The Company reminds all Officers that the guidance 2) When headlines or stern lines are tightened, given in “Code of Safe Practice for Ships Carrying proper communication should be made between Timber Deck Cargoes” Chapter 5 is to be strictly the Bridge and the Duty Officers, so that they are followed with respect to personal protective gear, walk aware that the lines will be under strain, even ways etc., in order to avoid such accidental falls. The though they have been slackened. Company also reminds all Officers of our earlier memo on dangers of oxygen depletion in spaces where logs 3) Mooring lines, even though they have been made are carried. fast and apparently under no strain, have to be given a wide berth. The Duty Officer must ensure this at all times. MARS 200608 Fall from Mast This report was sent by the Office of Investigations MARS 200606 Fall in Ballast Tank and Analysis, USCG Headquarters.