On January 28, a Dutch seafarer had a fatal accident, falling aboard the specialized fallpipe vessel ‘Simon Stevin’. Officials in Bruges, Belgium, are for the time being investigating the death of the seafarer, who was operating a crane using a remote control unit.
Specifically, the victim was identified as Dennis Feijtel, 24, from its local amateur soccer club ‘Bruse Boys’.
The vessel was at the port of Zeebrugge, and the crew was moving steel pipes. As the victim was operating a crane, he fell 12 metres into a hold, after stepping backwards.
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Although he was immediately taken to the hospital, he did not survive.
Moreover, labor minister Filiep De Ketelaer reported that the victim was in an unauthorized location at the time of the accident.
The Ghent Labor Auditor, West Flanders Department has started a criminal investigation into the causes of the accident.
In conclusion, the Simon Stevin is a a deepwater fallpipe rockdumping vessel. The vessel is designed to deposit rocks up to 15 inches in size on the seabed at depths of up to 2,000 meters, and a long fallpipe suspended from her hull provides accurate positioning.
