A stevedore was fortunate to escape with a fractured leg after being run over by a forklift truck on the stern ramp of a ro-ro ferry.
The ferry’s staff were responsible for simultaneously supervising the offloading of cars and palletised cargo, which was undertaken using forklift trucks driven by stevedores. After the cars had been offloaded the crew prepared to back load excavators onto the ro-ro’s deck, a process that required the positioning of lengths of heavy rope on the stern ramp. At the same time as two stevedores lifted the first length of rope and were moving it across the centre of the stern ramp, a forklift truck with a pallet of slate was being driven off the ferry.
The forklift truck driver did not see the stevedores on the stern ramp and the stevedore nearest to the approaching forklift truck was standing with their back to the ferry and did not see the oncoming forklift truck. The forklift truck driver was wearing ear defenders and did not hear a shouted warning from the crew in time to prevent the forklift truck striking the stevedore on the leg, causing multiple fractures. All cargo operations were halted and immediate first aid was administered to the injured stevedore. The emergency services were called, and the stevedore received hospital treatment for their injuries.
This accident was both foreseeable and preventable given the frequency of accidents involving pedestrians and vehicles on vessel stern ramps.
Credit: UK MAIB
Lessons learned
- Hazard → The accident happened because the stevedores moving the ropes were standing on the stern ramp at the same time as vehicles were being driven across the ramp. The forklift truck driver did not see the stevedores as the direct line of vision ahead was obscured by the palletised slate loaded onto the forklift truck and the driver expected that pedestrians would keep clear of moving vehicles. The stevedores were oblivious to the approaching forklift truck as they had become accustomed to working near moving vehicles. The strategy of see and be seen, with the onus on pedestrians to keep out of the way, was flawed as it did not account for a driver’s restricted visibility or stevedores becoming distracted by the task. Industry codes of practice require that pedestrians and vehicles remain segregated by appropriate means.
- Procedure → A system of control should have been established in the absence of a physical barrier to segregate pedestrians and vehicles and to prevent the requirement for people to be working on the stern ramp during loading and discharge operations. Such measures could include the safe positioning of a dedicated person near the stern ramp to control pedestrian and vehicle movements, or the introduction of a more complex system using technology to separate vehicles and pedestrians.
- Communicate → Crew and shore staff must understand the risks involved in cargo loading and discharging operations. It is essential that those who supervise and manage these activities also work together to identify conflicts between each other’s documented safety management system and reduce these to a safe level for all involved.