Shipowner Svitzer and terminal company Essar Oil failed to properly assess the risk before a chief engineer was killed trying to board a tug in the UK.
The Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) said the officer died on 27 January 2019 when he fell into the cold waters of the River Mersey from the 290-dwt Millgarth (built 1997) at the Tranmere Oil Terminal.
The engineer, 62-year-old Ian Webb, had released Millgarth’s mooring lines and was attempting to re-board the vessel, the report said.
His lifejacket inflated automatically on entering the water and his crewmates were able to recover him alongside the tug within five minutes, it added.
But they were unable to lift him out of the water because he had quickly become incapacitated in the cold water and lost consciousness.
He was later recovered by the crew of rescue boat Marine Fire Rescue 1, but he had suffered cardiac arrest and could not be revived.
MAIB said that accessing the tugs via the oil stage fenders at the Tranmere Oil Terminal was a common practice and was extremely dangerous, particularly in poor weather conditions.
Problem known about for 14 years
"The lack of safe access to and from Svitzer tugs at Tranmere Oil Terminal had been recognised for at least 14 years prior to this accident and had been raised at safety committee meetings and during company inspections many times prior to this accident," it added.
"Svitzer UK and Essar did not formally identify and evaluate the shared risks associated with access to and from an unmoored tug or discuss how these could be mitigated."
The report found crew had not been fully prepared to deal with the emergency situation, and were unfamiliar with the use of the tug’s rescue sling.
MAIB is also investigating a non-fatal man overboard incident on Svitzer Victory earlier this year.
Due to the similarity of this incident, it issued an urgent safety recommendation concerning the safe conduct of tug access and egress.
The report made further safety recommendations regarding the dissemination and closure of audit findings, attendance at man-overboard drills and the use of man-overboard recovery equipment.
Svitzer considering report
Svitzer told TradeWinds: "Svitzer remains saddened at the death of Ian Webb following the tragic incident in Liverpool on 27 January 2019.
"We continue to liaise with Ian Webb’s family and colleagues, with a view to ensuring that they have all the necessary support they require at both this challenging time and into the future."
It added: "We are committed to our core principle that the safety of our crews is the foundation of everything we do. At Svitzer, we want everybody always to be safe and return safely from work. We continuously strive to prevent incidents from causing harm to any of our colleagues.
"We have just received the MAIB’s report into this incident and will now take the time to read carefully through it. We are therefore not able to comment further at this point. Like the MAIB, Svitzer is committed to identifying all lessons that can be learned from this tragic incident and will take the necessary actions to ensure the continued highest possible standards in safety.
"Our heartfelt thoughts remain with Ian Webb’s family, loved ones, and colleagues."
