Crush incident while bulk carrier Fitnes was self-discharging cargo with loss of 1 life

Location: Northfleet, River Thames, England.

Completed PE Summary: Fitnes

A short summary of the accident and action taken:

Merchant Vessel/Accident Details
Vessel name Fitnes
Registered Owner and Manager Hartmann HJ
Port of Registry St Johns
Flag Antigua and Barbuda
Type Self-discharging bulk carrier
Built 2010
Construction Steel
Length Overall 75.6m
Gross Tonnage 20,234
Date/Time 04/10/2010, 0045 (UTC+2)
Location of Incident Northfleet, River Thames
Incident Type Accident to person
Persons Onboard 17
Injuries/Fatalities: Fatal injuries to one person
Damage/Pollution None

Synopsis

During self-discharging operations of a cargo of slag, the wiper called the cargo control room on his personal radio set to report that he was on watch in the conveyor belt tunnels, which were beneath the cargo holds. About 45 minutes later, the chief officer went down to the tunnels to make his routine rounds of the self-discharging system. When he reached the after end of the port side conveyor belt, he found the wiper’s body between the conveyor belt roller and a supporting beam. The chief officer activated the emergency conveyor belt stop system and called for help. Although the emergency services were quickly on scene, the wiper had already died of his injuries.

Action taken

  • In accordance with Chapter 10 of the IMO Casualty Investigation Code, the Chief Inspector has written to the Antigua and Barbuda administration, which is conducting a marine safety investigation, making the following observations:
    • There were no written risk assessments on board.
    • There was no written job description for the deceased on watchkeeping in the tunnels during cargo discharge operations.
  • HJH Shipmanagement is in the process of installing enhanced guarding around exposed conveyor belt machinery and now requires two crew members to work together on tunnel watchkeeping duties.

Published: November 2010


 

Updates to this page

Published 23 January 2015