Experience Feedback
On board a coastal vessel at sea, the Chief Engineer instructed the motorman to go to the steering gear flat and mop up a small quantity of accumulated leaked hydraulic fluid. The steering gear machinery was enclosed by a perimeter railing and as the motorman entered this enclosure, his clothing snagged on the flange coupling of the linkage that connected the rams on opposite sides of the tiller.
Simultaneously, a hard-over rudder movement was executed from the bridge, and the large axial movement of the linkage resulted in him being dragged into the narrow gap under the raised walkway frame, trapping and seriously injuring him.
A short while later, the Chief Engineer went to the steering gear flat to check on the work and found the injured motorman lying motionless and unable to extricate himself. After he was evacuated from the steering gear space, the motorman was airlifted to the nearest hospital, where he received medical treatment for crush injuries to his vertebrae and pelvic region.
Lessons learnt
1. Areas around moving machinery should be securely guarded to prevent such accidents;
2. Personnel should never enter or remain alone in any unmanned machinery space unless they have advised a responsible person / control station / bridge of their intentions;
3. Warning notices directing the crew’s attention to the likelihood of machinery suddenly starting up and moving were not displayed at the entrance of the space;
4. The Code of Safe Working Practices for Merchant Seamen (COSWP) recommends the use of a permit-to-work (PTW) for appropriate tasks. In this case, a PTW might have prevented this accident.
Source: Mars/Nautical Institute
