A UK accident report has criticised the safety culture on a Briese Dry Cargo multipurpose (MPP) ship after a dockworker was crushed to death by the vessel's crane.
The fatal accident happened on the 4,500-dwt, Gibraltar-flag Cimbris (built 2003) at the Antwerp Bulk Terminal in Belgium on 14 July 2020.
The stevedore coordinator suffered "catastrophic" injuries after being crushed into a 13-cm gap between the gantry crane and a cargo hatch cover, the Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) said.
The report reveals that no one saw the stevedore position himself between the moving crane and the hatch cover.
His likely intent was to assess the progress being made by his team working in the hold, MAIB said.
The docker almost certainly knew the gantry crane was moving but was probably confident that he could achieve his objective and move out of its path, the agency added.
The chief officer did not have a full view of the crane's path from his control position and, contrary to the vessel's documented procedures, a second crew member was not used as a lookout, the report found.
Lack of planning
MAIB said the hatch cover lifting operation was not properly planned, adequately supervised, or executed in a safe manner.
"Communication between the ship’s crew and port stevedores was poor and the safety culture demonstrated by both was weak," the agency added.
The gantry crane was inspected and its emergency stops, movement warning bell and flashing light were found to be operating correctly.
"The warning bell was loud and, although it was not possible to replicate the sound of the front-end loader engine in the hold, it was considered unlikely that the bell would have been drowned out by the ambient noise at the time of the accident," MAIB said.
MAIB said unsafe acts and conditions were widespread on the ship.
Unsafe acts seen
During the Cimbris' visit to Antwerp, the vessel's crew witnessed stevedores carrying out several unsafe acts.
On the day of the accident, these included the failure to wear hard hats and climbing over the coaming and sliding down the cargo to access the holds.
Even on the day after the accident, the replacement stevedore coordinator was seen sitting on the hatch coaming with no form of fall restraint.
Briese Dry Cargo has been asked to improve the safety culture on their vessels.
The company has been contacted for comment.
