28 Aug 2013
The incident
This incident occurred as the bosun endeavoured to lift the port pilot ladder by hand whilst his vessel departed port. Initially he lifted the three uppermost rungs of the ladder on to the deck of the vessel and kept them on board by using his body to hold them against the handrail.
He then proceeded to lean over the ship’s rail to retrieve the remaining portion of the pilot’s ladder. Whilst doing so he was distracted by the shore crane operator and subsequently lost his balance and fell from the deck on to the pier below. The bosun suffered a serious head injury, which very sadly resulted in his death.
Observations
The subsequent investigation showed that the direct cause of the incident was that:
- The bosun did not assess the risks involved prior to the operation. This was probably due to the fact that this method of bringing the ladder on board had been routinely undertaken without prior incident.
- He was not wearing a hard hat with a fitted chin strap.
- He did not exhibit due care and attention to the prevailing working conditions by becoming distracted by the shore crane operator.
Financial Costs
USD 46,139