UK P&I Club technical bulletin
The UK P&I Club has issued technical bulletin to address that many serious injuries are caused by falls from badly rigged or poorly maintained gangways and embarkation ladders or result from dangerous working practices.
Many accidents occur during the rigging of the gangway. The process of rigging the stanchions and the side ropes is inherently dangerous as there can be little for crew members to hold on to until this is completed. Crew should always wear a safety harness and lifejacket during this operation. Securing of the safety harness line can sometimes be difficult as there can be little to clip on to and movement can be restricted by the length of the harness line.
Many ships are now fitted with a gangway safety wire to which can be attached the safety harness line or, better still, fall inertia blocks which allows for an even greater freedom of movement.
Consideration should also be given to the rigging of stanchions and safety chains. In the photo below it can be seen that it is difficult to step onto the bottom platform from the bow of the launch.
When boarding ships by launch it is sometimes found that the bottom platform angle has not been adjusted to suit the ships draft. The bottom platform should be close to horizontal.
Accommodation ladders are sometimes found rigged at ridiculous angles: either too steeply inclined or near the horizontal when access is sometimes obstructed by the davit outrigger.
It is also important that the gangway is regularly monitored and adjusted to take into account the change of draft and tidal conditions.
During regular inspections of the gangways, particular attention should be paid to areas where there are aluminium alloy to steel connections. Wastage due to electrolytic corrosion due to the absence or deterioration of the insulating gasket is sometimes a problem.
Other common faults with gangways also include incorrectly rigged safety nets, slack sidelines, slippery steps and loose stanchions.
It is often noted that the marking of the gangway safe limit is unrealistically large, sometimes equating to one person per step.
Although the physical static strength of the gangway and wire could probably bear this number of persons, the dynamic load (bouncing effect) should be considered; also the domino effect should someone near the top fall backwards. This is a particular risk on container ships where stevedores, agents, chandlers etc. board en masse as soon as they are able.
It is recommended that gangways should not be raised or lowered when personnel are climbing on them.
The Master should always consider whether embarking or disembarking can be performed safely at exposed anchorages taking into consideration the sea state and the experience of the persons involved (i.e. seamen / technicians / wives / children).
In certain situations, the use of pilot ladders may be the safer (or only) option but, as their name infers, these are primary for the use of pilots who are specifically trained in their use. It is suggested that, whenever possible, a gangway should be rigged rather than relying on the easier option of a pilot ladder.
For more details please read relevant technical bulletin by UK P&I Club
Source and Image credit: UK P&I Club
