The Swedish Club published its monthly safety scenario for December, describing an incident in which a RoRo vessel was simultaneously loading and unloading containers and RoRo cargo on both the main deck and weather deck.
The incident
Stevedores were helping the crew to secure the cargo and driving the large forklifts and trucks to take the cargo on and off the vessel. On the main deck an AB was ensuring that the twistlocks were secured correctly, and on the weather deck the bosun was being assisted by another AB. The AB on the main deck was helping the forklift and truck drivers in unloading containers. When a container was removed by the stevedores the AB ensured that the
twistlocks were removed.
Two 40 foot containers were to be loaded onto a trailer, but it was not a straightforward operation as there was limited space to manoeuvre the large forklift because of a stack of 20 foot containers. It was difficult for the driver to get the forklift in position to lift the container. The top container was to be lifted onto a trailer that was parked a bit further away on the main deck. The forklift driver lined up, got into position and lifted the top container. The driver looked behind to ensure nothing was obstructing him. After he had reversed clear of the container below, he lowered the container so it was just above the deck. This stabilised the huge forklift but restricted the driver’s vision ahead as the container obstructed the vision for everything nearby.
The AB was standing away from the forklift beside the lower container, monitoring what was happening. The AB approached the forklift to remove the twistlocks on the left side of the container, bending down to remove the twistlocks on the deck. The forklift driver manoeuvred the forklift in the limited
space he had at his disposal to get the container onto the trailer. The forklift driver had to clear a container stack and manoeuvre both forward and aft. Suddenly he hit the container stack that was just in front of him. Another stevedore screamed at him to stop. The forklift driver stopped and jumped out of the forklift. He saw was the AB lying unconscious on deck with blood coming from his mouth. He realised that he had hit the AB. The stevedores immediately told the Chief Officer who contacted the authorities who sent an ambulance that arrived within a couple of minutes. The Second Officer was the first to give the AB first aid, but he could not find a pulse.
When discussing this case please consider that the actions taken at the time made sense for all involved. Do not only judge but also ask why you think these actions were taken and could this happen on your vessel?
- What were the immediate causes of this accident?
- What is the risk of this type of accident happening on our vessel?
- Do we have a risk assessment for this kind of job?
- What are the immediate risks when working on your own with stevedores or other third parties?
- What are our cargo operation procedures for working with stevedores or other third parties?
- Is it common for an AB to work on his own during a cargo operation?
- How could this accident have been prevented?
- What sections in our SMS, if any, were breached?
- Would our SMS have been enough to prevent this accident?
- If procedures weren’t followed, why do you think this was the case?
- How can we learn from this?
