Tag: fatality onboard

In the past four years 62 merchant sailors have lost their lives The number of seafarers killed due to Somali piracy has escalated in the past four years with 62 merchant sailors losing their lives through torture, execution, suicide and malnutrition, campaigners said on Monday.Somali gangs, who are making millions of dollars in ransoms, are becoming increasingly violent, and are able to stay out at sea for long periods and in all weather conditions using captured merchant vessels as mother ships."62 seafarers have died in the past four years as a direct result of piracy in the Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean, through deliberate murder by pirates, suicide during the period of captivity, death from malnutrition and disease, death by drowning, or heart failure just after the hijacking," said SOS SaveOurSeafarers.SOS said two seamen were killed in 2007 as a result of pirate attacks, adding that piracy had worsened since then.Overstretched international navies have proved unable to contain the raids in the Indian Ocean due to the vast distances involved in a crisis costing world trade billions of dollars a year."It is government inaction that has allowed piracy to spiral out of control in this area," said SOS, which ...

Seafarer died suddenly of malaria last year A Danish accident investigation has revealed that malaria can be a danger to seafarers and even kill in regions of the world not known for the disease.The report recounts the tragic death of a 32-year-old Filipino able-bodied seaman on the 34,800-dwt products tanker Romo Maersk (built 2003) in August last year.The seafarer died suddenly of malignant malaria type plasmodium falciparum, the most lethal form of the disease and generally limited to southern African states.But there were no signs that he had caught the disease until he complained of a headache and was given paracetamol by the chief officer.The next day, he developed a 42-degree temperature and died nine hours later.

Neither rescue training nor emergency skills The Transport Accident Investigation Commission says two crew members who died on a Korean logging ship had no warning of the dangers of organic cargo, no rescue training and no emergency skills.The commission on Wednesday released its findings on the death of the chief officer and the bosun of the TPC Wellington at Port Marsden in May last year.The chief officer lost consciousness while he was climbing into the ship's hold and fell from the ladder onto the logs below. The crew member who tried to save him also passed out, fell and died within minutes.The Commission says the men were killed by a lack of oxygen and the presence of toxic gases caused by the organic decomposition of logs.It says oxygen levels in the hold were 1% - 3% - low enough to cause unconsciousness in seconds.The Commission says the dangers from organic cargoes are well known in the maritime community, but the ship's crew had had no warnings on those hazards, no rescue training and no emergency drills.It says it will forward its findings to the International Maritime Organisation.Source: Radio New Zealand News

The third assistant engineer died after picking up a live wire while conducting electrical repairs A safety audit carried out more than a month after a fatality on board has identified deviations that pose a threat to personnel.A US Coast Guard (USCG) report into a fatality on board an ExxonMobil-controlled chemical tanker has revealed how the shipowner failed to notify the loss of life to a classification society during a safety-management-system audit.The incident dates back to January 2009 on board the 47,781-dwt Wilmington (built 1984), when third assistant engineer Christopher Erickson died after picking up a live wire while conducting electrical repairs.A USCG probe into the accident found numerous safety failings and identifiable deviations from the International Safety Management code and Safety Management System, which posed a threat to personnel.

He was killed during a firefight between US Navy and Somali pirates Taiwan has requested a US investigation into the death of a Taiwanese citizen during a firefight between the US navy and Somali pirates. That's the word from Cabinet spokesman Philip Yang on Monday.Taiwanese citizen Wu Lai-yu was a skipper on a fishing vessel that was hijacked by pirates near Somalia last year. He was killed this month by cross-fire between US naval forces and the pirates on the ship.Wu's family is now seeking compensation from the US military. The family has also requested photo evidence of the deceased so they can confirm Wu's identity.Yang saidthe government will do its best to help with relevant costs and procedures."This situation is of course most unfortunate and regrettable," said Yang. "Both family members and his boat company are hoping for some more material support to deal with follow-up procedures, and that will be provided by our foreign ministry and fisheries agency."The foreign ministry has requested a report from the US government, the naval fleet that engaged the pirates, and the US representative office in Taiwan.Yang explained that waters around Somalia are an important source of fish for Taiwan's fishing industry. He ...

Minimum standards of health for working at sea A fatal accident has highlighted the link between general fitness and maintaining safety.The death of an overweight seafarer on an NSC Schiffahrtsgesellschaft ship may have been caused by a heart attack in a personal-injury incident raises questions about how strictly the minimum standards of health for working at sea are being applied.Source: Safety4Sea