China Navigation Co (CNCo) has admitted it was negligent in maintenance on board one of its vessels that led to a stevedore being seriously injured.
Last week, the shipowner was ordered to pay fines and reparation costs of NZD 54,000 ($35,000) for the incident in New Zealand’s Port of Tauranga.
A 28-year-old stevedore fell eight metres onto a concrete wharf after a handrail broke on the 39,777-dwt log carrier Pakhoi (built 2016) on 19 December 2017.
The Singapore-based shipowner also admitted that the stevedore should not have exited the vessel in the way he did on the day of the incident.
“We deeply regret what happened and we accepted full responsibility in the court hearing,” CNCo said in a statement to TradeWinds.
“We have apologised to the injured stevedore and have assisted him and his family since the incident.”
The shipowner said it had made “fundamental changes” following the incident.
“We undertook a thorough investigation into our on-board vessel maintenance and safety procedures following the incident and stress that safety on board all our ships and ashore is the number one priority in all our operations,” the company said.
An inquiry by New Zealand authorities found that the handrail that failed had been damaged in July 2017 when the vessel was docked in India.
The handrail was reportedly welded back onto the ship, but the repair work was “poor and would not comply with the requirements of any approved structural steelwork standard”.
CNCo said it has since removed the railings from all its vessels so the option to exit its vessels in this way is “no longer possible”.
The shipowner added that this message, as well as the entry and exit procedure, had been “reinforced” to all its staff and crews working on board its ships.
“We will continue to work closely with all our contractors and partners on load and discharge safety procedures wherever our vessels trade in the world,” the company said.
On 3 July this year, CNCo admitted to charges under New Zealand’s Maritime Transport Act, which prohibits "dangerous activity involving ships or maritime products" (section 65).
It was fined NZD 24,000 ($15,780) and ordered to pay reparations to the injured stevedore of NZD 30,000 by the Tauranga District Court.
