A lesson learned from an incident involving a feeder container ship, where dysfunctions and fatigue played significant roles in an undocking accident that cost a crewmember’s life.
A feeder container ship docked in the early morning hours before sunrise. Soon after the gangway was in place, the port lashing foreman boarded the ship to carry out safety checks on deck for the cargo working areas. After his safety inspection, the foreman informed the Chief Officer (CO) that he had safety concerns about the containers at the outboard rows of bay 18, and the terminal’s stevedores would not unlash these containers.
Although this task was normally done by shore stevedores, it was the port’s policy that two persons were necessary to accomplish the task safely, and there was not enough space on the pedestal platform at bay 18 for two stevedores to perform the work.
The CO decided to marshal some crew for the task in order not to delay unloading. Two deck crew (Crew 1 & 4) were assigned to unleash the containers at the outboard rows of bay 18, port and starboard. The Bosun was to join the team as soon as he finished securing the forward and aft mooring stations.
Credit: The Nautical Institute
At one point during the task, Crew 4 could be seen struggling to remove the swivel head from the outer bottom corner casting of the third-tier container, which was well above his head and required him to look upwards. He was manoeuvring the swivel head to unlatch it from the container bottom casting, a task that requires both hands, not to mention skill, effort and strength. The lashing rod weighed almost 24kg and was 4.85m long. It took Crew 4 three to four minutes to unlatch the swivel head.
When the swivel head of the lashing rod came free of the corner caster, Crew 4 immediately attempted to lower the rod, but it swayed sideways towards the berth and quickly gathered downward momentum. Crew 4, still holding the lashing rod, fell overboard between the vessel and the berth, falling through the gap between the pedestal platform fencing and the container.
Emergency procedures were instigated, but the victim was pulled from the sea about 2.5 hours after the accident and was pronounced dead.
The investigation found, among other things, that lashing and unlashing tasks are commonly performed by stevedores in many parts of the world. These stevedores are specifically trained for the physical demands of specific cargo tasks such as container work. Such a physical skill requires time and practice to develop. Ship’s crew may have limitations when performing such tasks as these are not their primary roles.
Lessons learned
- This tragic accident underscores the importance of not rushing into a job, especially one that is not a common onboard practice, without properly assessing the risks involved and the appropriate mitigating measures.
- The two crew members unlashing containers at the outboard rows of bay 18 did not don fall protection or flotation devices, even though the task presented hazards such as working at height and risk of falling overboard.
- The port’s safety policy required two stevedores to safely undertake unlashing tasks. This should have been a red flag to the vessel’s CO to undertake a risk assessment and safety briefing with his crew before work began.