LP News Issue 6 - November 1995

Taking care

It may be no surprise to be told that the majority of personal injuries sustained on board ship are suffered by crewmembers themselves. Stevedores, surveyors and passengers also suffer injuries but not on anything like the same scale. Slips and falls are by far the largest category of accidents giving rise to personal injuries and well over a third of these are attributable to the want of care and attention on the part of the injured parties themselves. By their very nature ships are dangerous environments. It is absolutely essential that crews do not become complacent about the dangers which confront them. The constant review of safe working practices should be on the agenda of every team meeting and the guideline for every task undertaken should be "Taking care".

The true cost

ON PASSAGE

Deadly Descent

A hose test was being carried out at sea on the hatchcovers of a ship carrying shredded steel scrap. Hose tests on holds 1 and 2 had been conducted without incident. Then the chief mate and an a/b went into hold 3. Almost immediately the chief mate called out for assistance. The bosun, who could not hear clearly because of the noise of water issuing from the fire hose, alerted the master who was nearby on deck.

The master, looking down the access hatch, told the bosun to follow him immediately because something was clearly wrong. The master was in fact followed by an a/b. As the bosun entered the access hatch the master called out, instructing him to open the hatchcovers which he did.

When the hatchcovers had been opened by the width of a panel the bosun saw the bodies of the chief mate and first a/b lying on top of the stow. The bodies of the second a/b and the master were on the platform at the foot of the access ladder and on the ladder leading from the platform to the stow. Even after this the officer and assisting a/b who entered the hold to recover the bodies did so without the aid of available breathing equipment!

Oxygen depletion, as well as the build up of toxic or flammable gases, is a well known hazard of enclosed spaces that have been isolated from the surrounding atmosphere for prolonged periods.

No one should enter such spaces without wearing breathing apparatus unless it has been established that the atmosphere in the space concerned contains normal levels of oxygen. Full details of the associated problems can be found in appendix F of the IMO Code of Safe Practice for Solid Bulk Cargoes.

Cleaned out A wiper slipped and fell, injuring his back on an internal accommodation ladderway. At the site of the fall and in adjacent corridors were traces of chemical hand cleanser which had a grease-like consistency. There were also traces of this cleaner on the man's shoes. The careless spillage of the cleanser resulted in an injury to the wiper which required his repatriation. The injury further aggravated a second injury and resulted in significant distress to the individual.

Frozen hands Whilst working on the ship's air conditioning system the electrical officer disconnected a freon gas hose from the compressor. A valve which should have been closed was in fact left open and as the hose was removed freon was released under pressure. Instead of closing the valve, the officer tried to re-secure the hose immediately and as a result his hands were badly frozen; his right hand being freeze welded to the pipe. The severity of the burns were such that the ship had to deviate to disembark the crewmember in order that he could receive proper medical attention.

Evening call

An a/b calling on a colleague found the door open but his cabin empty. He thought no more of it until just before his midnight watch when the a/b once again passed the cabin which was exactly as he had seen it before. Usually by that time his colleague would have been asleep with his cabin door shut.

The a/b initiated a search of the ship which was fruitless. The lost man's cabin showed he was ready for bed with his bedside light and radio on. Two antennae for radio and television were fed through an open porthole but on the table close to the porthole was a slipper and there were hand marks on the glass of the opened porthole. The ship put back to the area where it was thought the man might have gone overboard but the man overboard search also proved fruitless. It was concluded the man had lost his balance whilst seeking to rig or adjust an external aerial through an open porthole.

In so simple a manner the man lost his life and the crew lost a well liked colleague.

ARRIVAL

Missile As a ship berthed portside-to it put out a line running from the starboard winch via deadmen through the starboard fairleads. As the line came under tension the spindle of one of the deadmen rollers fractured. The roller was catapulted across the after deck into a steel bulkhead and onwards to the port side winch, all the way on a rising trajectory. A crewman who was on the after deck was unfortunately positioned in the path of this heavy, high-speed missile. The roller hit him just above the knee with such force that it severed his leg completely. The rollers had not been well maintained.

Shattering shackle Upon arrival at an SBM arrangements were put in hand to secure the ship. A messenger line was used to join the ship's mooring line to the terminal's main heaving line so that it could be taken on board. The messenger line was turned around a shackle on one end of the heaving line and an eye in the ship's line. The other end of the heaving line was shackled to the chain of the monobuoy's fixed mooring system. As the line was heaved on board the messenger parted just short of the windlass drum. The heaving line immediately ran back along its course through the focsle fairleads at high speed. A pumpman who was standing in the vicinity was hit on the side of the head by the shackle on the heaving line and was killed instantly. The main lines were linked in a wholly inadequate manner, when a safe and secure option was immediately available.

Dangerous loops

A general cargo ship on regular liner trade between Europe and West Africa prepared for towage to berth. As the ship's line was taken up by the tug, a crewman caught his foot in a loop which had formed in it as it lay on the focsle deck. The loop tightened around the man's leg and pulled him towards the fairlead. He was held by the fairlead but as the tug continued to pull the loop constricted further and his foot was severed at the ankle. The man had to undergo medical treatment lasting more than two years.

Sting in the tail

A crewmember was injured whilst on duty on the focsle during the transfer of a mooring line from the windlass to the mooring bitt.

The bosun saw to the stopper whilst his colleague received the slackening line from the windlass to secure it on the bitt. The stopper was formed from a cut down length of chain linked to the base of the bitt with a tail of polypropylene line. As the stopper came under strain the tail parted resulting in a sharp release of tension in the line. This caused the slackened line from the drum to jump. It hit the assistant in the face causing painful injuries.

The tension in lines during mooring can be so great that even the slightest failure can give rise to serious personal injuries or death.

WORKING CARGO

Fatal blow Whilst entering a lower hold via a tween-deck hatchway giving onto a vertical ladder, a surveyor used the hatchway lid to steady himself. Unfortunately the lid was not properly secured. It fell foward onto the surveyor's head, knocking him off the ladder and he fell to his death. The tragedy could have been avoided so easily had the hatchway lid been adequately held by a proper securing device. Also of course, from an individual's point of view, it is obviously sensible to check the safety of equipment before you rely on it with your life.

Back breaking

A longshoreman received serious back injuries after bags of rice fell from a cargo sling which was being worked by a floating crane. The longshoreman was unable to work again; indeed he was lucky to escape with his life.

The cargo operations were being undertaken by the stevedoring company utilising all their own equipment and there was no immediate fault or cause attributable to the ship. The stevedoring company's insurers reached a settlement with the injured man. He continued to pursue a claim against the shipowner.

The hatchcovers of one hold had failed to open by reason of a mechanical problem. Therefore the floating crane which was scheduled to operate at that hold doubled up at the hold by which the injured man was working. The bags fell from a sling worked by this second crane. He argued that but for the failure of the hatchcover mechanism he would not have been injured.

The shipowner concluded a settlement with the injured man during the course of the jury trial but jurors indicated after the settlement that had they decided the matter they would have awarded about US$2 million and ordered the shipowner to bear half of that!

The consequences of failing to maintain equipment can be very expensive even when it has only a very remote link to the injury.

Which way?

A crane driver slipped and fell, injuring his back, whilst descending a metal step-ladder facing away from the rungs on a cold, frosty morning. He would certainly have had better grip and balance had he descended the ladder facing the steps, as he ought to have done; especially in view of the weather conditions.

On investigation it was found that only the first few steps of the ladder had been gritted. This was clearly an omission; all of the steps should have been gritted and a sign warning of the danger of ice might have helped.

UNDER REPAIR

When bad weather interrupted maintenance work on the ship's external plating and so the crew were instructed to rig cargo lights for No.4 hatch so that work on the tank top could be undertaken. One team was to organise the lights whilst the other organised the tools.

As one a/b went to get lights his partner entered the tweendeck, alone and without a torch or any other light, through the aft access. At that time the chief mate and a fitter were in the forward end checking the forward tweendeck hatch pontoons.

The a/b returned with the lights and lowered one through the forward end of the aft tweendeck pontoon which was open. This was met by shouting from the lower hold as the chief mate and the fitter called for the light and assistance. Hearing a fall, they had located the body of the a/b's partner on the tank top below the opening.

It is supposed that the dead man heard the sound of the chief mate and the fitter at the forward end of the hold; that he walked towards them unaware or forgetting that the forward end of the aft section was open and fell to his death on the tank top below.

Backing out Two fitters were replacing empty oxygen and acetylene cylinders, collecting new cylinders from a locker on the weather deck. As one of the fitters was backing out of the locker he stumbled on a manhole cover which was immediately outside the locker. He fell onto his buttocks and suffered a depressed fracture of one of his vertebrae. Now the crewmember has to wear a back brace and is unable to work.

Unpleasant surprise

During the course of a dry-docking it was noticed by an attending surveyor that the 'gang' release mechanism for the CO2 cylinders, which formed the fixed fire-fighting system for the cargo holds and engineroom, had not been disconnected.

During a drydocking lots of different people are present on board ship, all for different reasons, all very busy. Without the disconnection of the gang release mechanism there is always the danger of an accidental discharge of the CO2. Someone, qualified or not, could pull the gang release mechanism without first checking that it is disconnected or that personnel are not in the holds or engineroom and the consequences could well be fatal.

The gang release mechanism was disconnected and a reminder to re-connect was provided by means of a notice posted on the bridge window.

Sunk by the sink

A crewman suffered a serious back injury by attempting to move a galley sink unaided. The sink was being moved in order to facilitate repair work.

Having used a hoist to lift the sink out of its position, the crewman then decided to try to carry it away single-handed. The sink was very heavy and in the process of attempting this he sustained serious back injuries. Whilst he received compensation for his injuries he was unable to return to sea again.

RETURNING TO SHIP

One small step While his ship was at anchor an a/b returned late at night by launch. As he was stepping from the launch onto the accommodation ladder he missed his footing and fell into the water. One of the crew on the launch dived into the water in an effort to rescue him. Unfortunately neither man was ever seen again.

Polished off

Returning from the radio room to her office in order to obtain information required for a telephone call, a medic/clerk slipped and fell on the corridor floor immediately outside the radio room.

The floor was being polished at the time. It had a smooth linoleum finish. The old polish was first stripped using a chemical stripper. Fresh wet polish was applied and buffed to a finish when dry. Warning signs alerting people to the dangers were placed at each end of the corridor and the corridors were taped off but the radio room opened onto the corridor in question.

Although warnings were shouted into the offices opening onto the corridor this was obviously inadequate to prevent this accident.

Passing by

In a case recently reported to the Association's directors a claimant sustained back injuries resulting from a fall whilst crossing a catwalk from the jetty to a floating dock in which his ship which was undergoing repairs.

The accident happened as the floating dock was sucked away from its moorings by a passing ship. That ship was traced and the man pursued a claim against the owners of the floating dock, his own ship and the passing ship.

The passing ship's evidence was that their speed was reasonable and the floating dock was improperly moored with ropes that were in a poor condition. Legal advice was that whilst the passing ship would probably attract some liability, the majority of fault lay with the other two parties.

The passing ship did not regard a proposal to settle at US$2.9 million as attractive so the matter proceeded to trial. The trial jury preferred the evidence of the plaintiff and the other defendants, held the passing ship 90% at fault and set damages at $8.5 million. Under threat of appeal by the passing ship a settlement was finally concluded at $4.5 million!

Claims against ships for alleged speeding (usually wash damage) are quite common. It is important that due regard is paid to speed and the possibility of wash damage being caused to ships or structures in the vicinity.

Fit to drop As a crewmember returned from shore leave he descended a vertical gangway ladder onto the main deck facing outwards rather than backing down it, facing the rungs. Whilst doing so he over-balanced and being unable to grip the hand rail effectively he fell 1.5 meters onto the main deck breaking his leg in four places. At the time the gangway was well lit and free from extraneous hazards. The ship was about to sail but the severity of the crewmember's injury called for emergency medical attention and arrangements had to be made to transfer the crewmember to hospital. Safe practice requires the descent of steep or vertical steps and ladders to be made facing the rungs and holding on to the ladder's rails and not the rungs themselves. In spite of this being common knowledge, there are still too many serious casualties suffered by disregarding it.

PASSENGERS

Doorway danger
A passenger who wanted to retrieve personal belongings from his car was accompanied to the car-deck by a member of the ship's crew. The crewmember pointed to a particular door prior to entering an adjacent room.

The passenger thought that the crewmember had left him and that he was expected to open the door himself, enter the car deck on his own and get his things, despite of clear warning signs to the contrary. The passenger therefore tried to open the door.

In fact the crewmember had entered an adjacent room in order to operate the controls for opening and closing the door. The passenger, who was endeavouring to open the door, got his hand trapped in the handle just as the controls were operated and the door started to open. Fortunately the passenger was able to free his hand before suffering severe injuries.

Ships are dangerous environments, particularly for members of the public. This incident could have been very serious but with better communication between the crewmember and the passenger the accident could have been avoided altogether.

Dimly lit

A passenger who was enjoying a short Christmas cruise around the Australian coast temporarily disembarked in order to participate in some shore-side celebrations including an organised fireworks display. The display had already commenced as she proceeded down the gangway.

Whether or not she was distracted by the fireworks is uncertain, but she lost her footing and fell sustaining multiple fractures to her leg. This obviously required her admission to hospital and prematurely terminated her enjoyment of the cruise. Investigations at the time showed that the gangway, owned and operated by the local port authority, was inadequately lit on account of a number of lights being broken.

The injured woman was clearly entitled to compensation. The port authority had to contribute to this because they were responsible for the maintenance and operation of the gangway, but the shipowner was principally responsible for his failure to arrange safe passage to and from the ship.

The Hit List

Here is our own list of the most common types of personal injury we encounter:

	Slips and falls Inadequate footwear, oil or grease deposits on floors, alcohol excess, poorly marked or defective steps, descending steps and ladders the wrong way round, inadequate lighting, inadequate or non existent staging, over-stretching – all these make slips and falls the top of the hit list.
	Falling object injuries Spanners in the engine rooms, cargo falling from nets, collapsing booms all feature regularly. The tremendous momentum involved usually makes such injuries very serious.
	Strains Back problems, hernias, damaged ligaments are all consequences of strains caused by failing to size a job up properly; by one man trying to do a job requiring two and by failing to use devices designed to assist with lifting and moving heavy objects.
	Passengers Passenger accidents occur so frequently seemingly because of the sense of security generated on board ship. Passengers tend to treat the ship as an hotel, not a means of transport and do not expect to adapt their life style at all. Passenger claims also arise from major casualties such as grounding, fire, and other incidents.
	Burns, fire and explosion injuries Carelessness in the galley and chemicals spills are common causes of burns. Smoking in cargo and accomodation spaces, electrical faults, poorly treated meal cargoes and engine room incidents lead the way for fire. Hot work and naked lights where explosive mixtures of gas have built up put both the ship and surrounding neighbourhood in peril.
	Machinery and equipment injuries Missing guards, lack of maintenance, over-loading and other abuse, want of training all make machinery and equipment potentially fatal to their operators; accidents are all too frequent.
	Enclosed spaces Entry to unventilated spaces keeps on happening. It frequently goes wrong and usually causes multiple fatalities because the urge to rush to the aid of a colleague in distress is so strong.

A wealth of experience

Syndicate F6, which handles personal injury claims for the Association, has unrivalled experience. Correct and sensitive handling of such claims is essential to the well-being and recovery of injured parties and to the ability of next of kin to come to terms with the loss of loved ones. It is also essential if spurious claims are to be identified and combatted effectively.

In addition to claims handling the syndicate also provides advice to Members on:

• Crew contracts
  These must be approved by the Club if the Member's liabilities under the contracts are to be recoverable.
• Passenger tickets
  Frequent inquiries are made concerning the adequacy and effectiveness of terms and conditions.
• Loss prevention
  Identification of danger areas and consideration of safety programming. (The Association has produced the video Taking Care for the benefit of serving crews and their trainers).
• Disaster planning
  Attending and reviewing major casualty exercises and undertaking safety audits. Whilst accidents will always happen many could be avoided by promoting safety consciousness on your ship. Remember the Club and particularly the syndicate F6 claim handlers are always willing to assist and give advice on all aspects of personal injury loss prevention matters.