B SAFE Onboard Safety BSAFE INCIDENT CASE STUDY 17: FATAL FALL ONTO THE CARGO HOLD TANK TOP Published: 10 October 2022 A BULK CARRIER WAS TO CARRY OUT CARGO HOLD CLEANING WHILE DRIFTING IN PREPARATION FOR ITS NEXT CARGO WITH THE HELP OF A RIDING TEAM CONTRACTED FROM ASHORE. DURING THE THIRD DAY OF WASHING THE CARGO HOLDS, ONE OF THE RIDING TEAM MEMBERS FELL APPROXIMATELY 17 METRES (FIGURE 1) DOWN INTO CARGO HOLD NO. 5 AND WAS FOUND MOTIONLESS ON THE TANK TOP. THE PERSON WAS LATER PRONOUNCED DEAD. Figure 1 : FALL OF APPROXIMATELY 17M FROM THE HATCH COAMING INTO THE HOLD Source: MARINE SAFETY INVESTIGATION UNIT – TRANSPORT MALTA WHAT HAPPENED The vessel had discharged its full cargo and thereafter, in the preparation for loading its next cargo, the vessel had to undergo cargo hold cleaning while drifting off port limits. The charterer had contracted a shore riding team of 13 persons, with one being the team leader, to assist in washing down the cargo holds before proceeding to the load port. Due to Covid-19 restrictions, the riding team and the ship’s crew had to abide by the strict local rules on absolute separation between them without any physical interaction. However, ship’s crew were still to provide equipment and assist in pumping out the bilge water accumulated during the cleaning. Before starting work, the chief officer had carried out a Tool Box Talk (TBT) with the riding team leader where the safety procedures were discussed. As the riding team members were all experienced in this kind of work, their team leader did not find it necessary to discuss the safety precautions with his team members on daily basis. The team leader also decided that a risk assessment was unnecessary, again this was because the riding team had past experience of cleaning of cargo holds, and he regarded this as a routine task for the team. Nevertheless, the riding team were observed wearing personal protection equipment like safety goggles, helmet and gloves. The risk assessments comp