London P&I Club – StopLoss No. 60
From time to time, the London P&I Club sees instances of divers employed to perform underwater inspections running into trouble. This can give rise to personal injury claims, fines and police investigations into the sequence of events, with the risk of criminal consequences for individual crewmembers.In the latest issue of its StopLoss Bulletin, the London P&I Club refers to diving accidents as follows:
The divers employed will be working in a commercial environment, which is inherently hazardous. This is compounded by possible operational activities onboard a ship outside the control of the divers. Members should exercise due diligence in ensuring they contract with suitable companies with technically competent personnel, who are operating within the legal requirements of the port state.
If Members are having difficulty identifying an appropriate company, the Club can assist by accessing the local knowledge of the correspondents. Any diving in the vicinity of the hull should be carried out under the control of the ship’s Permit to Work system. Before the Permit is issued, any onboard operations or equipment that may be a hazard to the divers must be identified and the operation suspended and/or equipment locked out.
Ideally this should be a joint exercise undertaken with the divers, including the posting of warning signs.The diving operations should be conducted to a prepared plan.
The Master may wish to review this so he is familiar with action to be taken in the event of an emergency, including the method of diver rescue, and the planned resources are actually provided.
Where accidents occur, they are often due to a crewmember overlooking the fact that the dive is ongoing and engaging in activities giving rise to a known risk with the result that Members will be liable for any injury or loss of life.
For more information, please view StopLoss issue 60
Source: The London P&I Club