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Unsafe boarding during unmooring operation

  • What happened?

    A vessel was departing from port.

    Crew were informed that the shoreside linesmen were not available to assist.

    A crew member climbed over the side of the vessel to remove the mooring lines from the shoreside bollards.

    Mooring lines were not recovered quickly enough and became tangled into a stern thruster.

    CCTV shows crew removing mooring lines from shoreside bollards with no safety measures in place
  • Why did it happen?

    Crew did not follow the standard unmooring process and operated without safe boarding/un-boarding arrangements.

    Failure to recognise and manage the safety risks associated with the change to the planned activity.

    • Ineffective risk assessment before starting work.

    No-one stopped the job (stop work authority) when port authorities informed the vessel of shoreline linesmen unavailability.

    Failure to follow company operating procedures and internal health, safety, security and environment (HSSE) rules.

    Why did it happen - icon
  • What did they learn?

    Vessel crew should not act as linesmen for their own vessel.

    Changes to any activity should be risk assessed and managed using the management of change (MoC) process.

    • Contingency plans should be developed, and measures put in place ahead of routine activities (e.g. how to safely conduct/stop unmooring process when linesmen are not available).

    Ensure personnel are confident to speak up/step in if they witness an unsafe operation.

    Confirm all employees are aware of:

    • Relevant guidelines for safe working practice for marine operations.
    • Fleet level risk assessment and management procedures.
    • Fleet level vessel mooring/unmooring procedures.
    What learn - icon
  • Ask yourself or your crew

    What industry guidelines and procedures do you apply in your day-to-day activities (safe work practices, risk assessments, specific procedures for mooring operations)?

    Who can initiate the management of change process?

    • What are the steps in this process?

    What are your contingency plans for mooring/unmooring and boarding/un-boarding activities?

    How do you ensure all workers follow safe working practices?

    • What should you do if you see someone acting in an unsafe way?

    What measures do we have in place to this from happening here? How can we improve?

    Ask your crew - icon
Published on 10/12/20 2057 Views

A vessel was departing from port. A crew member climbed over the side of the vessel to remove the mooring lines from the shoreside bollards with no safety measures in place.