Loss Prevention Advice
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A fatal injury of a crewmember due to the tipping over of a vertically stowed stack of steel plate.
What happened?
Several steel plates measuring approximately 300cm x 130cm x 1cm and a total mass of approx.1800 kg were stowed in a vertical position in a corner of a steering gear room of a ship. The plates were used as material blanks for the on-board production of spare parts. To prevent the plates from tipping over, the stock of plates leaning against a railing was fixed in place with a steel cross strut mounted horizontally at waist height. The two ends of the cross brace, which served as an anti-tip device, were each pushed onto a threaded rod welded to the railing and locked in place with a nut. Opposite the stack of plates was a wall shelf at a distance of approx. one meter.
On the day of the accident, one plate was to be removed from the plate supply for a repair assignment. In order to handle the heavy plates, several crewmembers were required. As these crewmembers still had work to do on deck, only one crewmember initially went into the steering gear room and made preparations for the upcoming work assignment. In this context, he already disassembled the anti-tip device. As a result, the plate stack lost its “stability” and felt against the wall shelf. The crew member standing between the stack of plates and the wall shelf was caught by the stack of plates and pressed against the wall shelf at abdominal level. The accident victim suffered fatal injuries.
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The latest instalment of their Good Catch series to inform of the importance of safety on crane operations, bringing into attention an incident during cargo handling where a steel pipe swung and struck part of a ship, causing damage.
The stevedores had just started to offload the cargo of steel pipes from a bulk carrier using the vessel’s cranes. Cargo operations were being observed by the vessel’s Officer on Watch (OOW), but the stevedores were being directed by the stevedore foreman assigned to the vessel.
Cargo operations started smoothly as the first few lifts were performed without any issues. But on a subsequent lift, a large steel pipe swung and banged hard into the longitudinal bulkhead between the cargo hold and a ballast wing tank.
The impact dented the large steel pipe and punctured a hole in the ballast wing tank. The OOW observed what happened and yelled to the stevedore operating the crane to be more careful. But the next lift also swung and nearly banged into the same wing tank bulkhead. The OOW radioed the Chief Officer (CO).
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JSW Jaigarh Port Authority in India has issued a circular outlining the Standing Operating Procedure (SOP) for vessels mooring and anchoring during the monsoon season, effective from 15 May 2025 to 15 September 2025.
The guidelines have been updated to align with industry best practices, including SOLAS Chapter V, OCIMF Mooring Equipment Guidelines 4th Edition (MEG4), ISGOTT, and local port requirements. Non-compliance with the SOP may result in operational delays, fines, and/or vessel movement restrictions imposed by the Port Authority. Although the guidelines were specifically issued for Jaigarh port, they are highly relevant for vessels calling at any port in the region during the monsoon season.
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Below you will find ARC’s weekly report dated 28 May 2025, covering the period of 22 to 28 May 2025, where the following incidents were reported:
- 3 maritime security incidents in West Africa in the last 7 days
- 0 maritime security incidents in the Indian Ocean/Middle East in the last 7 days.
Full advisory at the following link.
https://britanniapandi.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/ARC-Weekly-Report-28.05.25.pdf