IMCA issued its Safety Flashes for March, summarizing a case where during a vessel’s drydock, the crewmembers that were working at height while painting the hull, were not provided with safety harnesses.
The case
On a vessel in dry dock, painting of the the hull was ongoing, using the shipyard crane and a personnel basket. During this work process it was observed that the workers in the basket were not provided with safety harnesses.
The shipyard representative was requested to provide certificates for basket in use, but it was revealed that neither basket nor fall arrest equipment had valid test certificates.
The job was stopped and the shipyard was required to correct the situation. Relevant certified equipment was then immediately provided.
Probable causes
- Shipyard failed to follow agreed Control of Work process, or follow equipment certification & PPE requirements related to Work at Height activities as agreed by the contractor and the yard.
- It was not clear who was responsible for Control of Work and HSE oversight between the contractor and the yard.
Lessons learned:
- Revision of Safety Management System to include implementation of vessel pre-docking checklist to verify HSE readiness, including shipyard arrangements, cranes, relevant equipment and workforce certification prior to vessel docking;
- Arrange development of bridging agreements between shipyard and contractor, to specify Control of work responsibilities for any activities onboard of vessel, including external activities related to vessel hull.
