Home News and Resources News Loss Prevention 22 Feb, 2022 Cargo Hold Pontoon Handling Operations Simon Hodgkinson Global Head of Loss Prevention The Club has noted an increased number of recent incidents where crew members have been fatally or seriously injured while working the vessel's cargo hold pontoons during cargo operations. Download PDF In all the cases, the common trends observed were that the crane operators could not see the crewmembers clearly from their working positions. The signalpersons were either performing two tasks or had allowed themselves to become distracted from their primary duty of signalling the crane operators. There was complacency by the crews towards the risks involved in working and handling the pontoons. Furthermore, none of the vessels involved had procedures within their Safety Management System (SMS) for the movement of the cargo hold pontoons or had conducted a Risk Assessment before starting the job. Vessels with cargo hold pontoons should review their procedures and ensure a system is in place for the installation, removal, and safe movement of the cargo hold pontoons due to the high-risk nature of the operation. The methods utilised for cargo hold pontoon works should include but not be limited to the following: Conduct a Risk Assessment for the operation. Consider the vessel's possible motions during the planning of the pontoon moving operations with a review of the risk assessment conducted on this aspect. Stopping the job should always be done when the vessel's movement is deemed too dangerous. Hold a toolbox meeting every time the crew will handle the cargo hold pontoons. Assign only one task to each person involved in the operation during the toolbox meeting. Ensure the crew always wear the correct PPE and high visibility clothing for the operation. Remind the crew that "stop the job" rules apply. Ensure the correct certified lifting equipment for the movement of the pontoons is used. Understand and agree to the order in