The following case study, based on an investigation report issued by Transport Malta, refers to a fatal injury occurred as the crew member got trapped between the mooring rope on the winch drum and the deck on the poop deck. The safety investigation revealed that in order to perform the task of stowing the mooring ropes on the winch drum, the crew members had to engage physically with the ropes while the winch was rotating.
The UK MAIB, in its recently published Safety Digest, focuses on a freight ro-ro vessel entering a port; Due to concerns of cold weather and disruptions to the vessel’s water pipe system, the master ordered to rig a temporary curtain arrangement in the corridor, at deckhead height, leading to the injury of a seafarer who used a ladder improperly, which led to the ladder slipping.
In its latest edition of Safety Digest, the UK MAIB focuses on a fishing vessel’s accident, in which its personnel accidentally got engaged in shooting creels. While the vessel was facing rough weather conditions, the personnel couldn’t use the a self-shooting system, leading to the engaging of three deckhands in the shooting creels.
In the latest Safety Digest, UK MAIB focuses on the importance of the weather forecasts for the avoidance of relevant accidents; UK MAIB advises that if severe weather is forecast, all options available should be considered and all relevant precautions should be taken to establish the safety of the crew.
Norway’s Petroleum Safety Authority (PSA) has launched an investigation into a serious work accident which took place on the Heimdal field in the North Sea on 28 November 2019, where two people were injured from an explosion in a gas cylinder.
Taking lives of over 1,000 people, the sinking of the RoRo ferry Al-Salam Boccaccio 98 remains a good example of study as poor emergency procedures resulted to deaths of over 1,000 people and spurred widespread criticism of the crew, as well as the owner company.
On November 27, Wednesday, a fire erupted on a petrochemical plant in Port Neches, Texas, resulting to the injury of two plant employees and one contractor, who were transmitted to the Southeast Texas Regional Medical Centre and to Memorial Hermann in Houston for treatment.
After the Ro-Ro cargo ship ‘Eurocargo Trieste’ caught fire off Tuscany, on November the 21st, an inspection took place by technicians of the Harbour Office, to investigate the incident. The inspection found various anomalies, and the vessels was seized in Livorno on November 23rd.
A Belgium-registered tourist cruiser ran aground on rocks near Phi Phi Island while it was on its journey from Lanta Island to Phuket, on Monday November 25, and was later towed to shore. The passengers had 77, French passengers onboard, who were safely taken to shore, and there were no injuries reported.
A new special prosecution unit raided multiple offices of the Korea Coast Guard with the aim to find evidence in regards to the sinking of the ferry Sewol in 2014, which claimed the lives of 304 people. The raids are said to be part of the latest in a long series of investigations into the loss of the ferry Sewol. It was reported that the raids recovered personnel records listing the names of the first responders on the day of the sinking, as well as other documents related to the accident.
