Graig Ship Management of the UK has been asked to remedy safety problems after a crewman died in a fall from a bulker last year.
Bosun Qin Zhigang was killed when a timber cargo stack partially collapsed on the 35,000-dwt Graig Rotterdam (built 2005) in Alexandria, Egypt, on 18 December, 2016.
He fell overboard and into a barge that was secured alongside.
The UK Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) concluded that poor stevedoring practices probably contributed to the unsecured cargo stack collapsing and that no measures were in place to prevent the bosun from falling overboard.
It said: "With the deck cargo lashings removed, the cargo packages had insufficient racking strength to counter the effects of ship movement, cargo repositioning, dunnage displacement, barges securing to deck cargo stacks, and cargo discharge operations over a prolonged period.
"Poor stevedoring practices that had previously been witnessed by the ship’s crew were not discussed and so were allowed to continue."
Graig was recommended to take action designed to enhance safe working practices during the loading, carriage and discharge of timber cargoes.
The vessel’s charterer, Norlat Shipping, has been recommended to ensure masters are provided with the required information needed to safely transport timber deck cargo.
MAIB said that prior to loading, the master was not advised of either the deck cargo package racking strength or the frictional resistance of its plastic covering.
"The ship’s crew did not consider the level of risk while on passage to warrant the need for a catwalk to be installed or for safety harnesses to be worn," it added.
"This lack of recognition extended to the increased risk of falling during cargo discharge operations. A contributing factor to these omissions is likely to have been both the master’s and chief officer’s lack of previous experience of carrying timber deck cargo, despite this being a stated aspiration in the company’s SMS."
