A STEVEDORE ON BOARD A GENERAL CARGO SHIP WAS FATALLY CRUSHED BETWEEN THE GANTRY CRANE AND A HATCH COVER DURING CARGO DISCHARGE IN ANTWERP, BELGIUM. DESPITE NO ONE WITNESSING THE INCIDENT, IT IS BELIEVED THAT HE POSITIONED HIMSELF BETWEEN THE MOVING GANTRY CRANE AND THE HATCH COVER TO CHECK ON HIS TEAM’S PROGRESS WORKING IN THE HOLD. britanniapandi.com WHAT HAPPENED FATAL ACCIDENT DURING GANTRY CRANE OPERATIONS © BRITANNIA P&I CLUB 2024 | AGENTS TO THE MANAGERS: TINDALL RILEY (BRITANNIA) LIMITED | REGIS HOUSE, 45 KING WILLIAM STREET, LONDON EC4R 9AN, UK No.23 | MAY 2024 INCIDENT CASE STUDY 1 1 CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE FIGURE 1 GENERAL CARGO SHIP SOURCE MARINE ACCIDENT INVESTIGATION BRANCH - ACCIDENT REPORT 12/2021 A general cargo ship moored starboard side to berth, at a bulk terminal, to unload its cargo of fine coke, also known as ‘coke breeze’. The weather was cloudy, with light rain and a gentle breeze coming from the north. Between midnight and 0600 hours, the third officer on watch was operating the ship’s gantry crane (Figure 2), to stack the hatch covers, following the cargo unloading plan (Figure 3). britanniapandi.com WHAT HAPPENED (CONTINUED) © BRITANNIA P&I CLUB 2024 | AGENTS TO THE MANAGERS: TINDALL RILEY (BRITANNIA) LIMITED | REGIS HOUSE, 45 KING WILLIAM STREET, LONDON EC4R 9AN, UK No.23 | MAY 2024 INCIDENT CASE STUDY 2 CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE 2 FIGURE 2 SHIP’S HATCH COVER GANTRY CRANE (PHOTOGRAPH TAKEN FROM SHIP’S STARBOARD SIDE, LOOKING FORWARD) SOURCE MARINE ACCIDENT INVESTIGATION BRANCH - ACCIDENT REPORT 12/2021 HATCH COVER 11 IN POSITION GANTRY CRANE OPERATOR AT CONTROL POSITION CARGO HATCH COVER GANTRY CRANE LIFTING SPREADER BAR GANTRY CRANE STARBOARD SIDE TRACK britanniapandi.com WHAT HAPPENED (CONTINUED) © BRITANNIA P&I CLUB 2024 | AGENTS TO THE MANAGERS: TINDALL RILEY (BRITANNIA) LIMITED | REGIS HOUSE, 45 KING WILLIAM STREET, LONDON EC4R 9AN, UK No.23 | MAY 2024 INCIDENT CASE STUDY 3 3 FIGURE 3 SHIP’S CARGO DISCHARGE PLAN SOURCE MARINE ACCIDENT INVESTIGATION BRANCH - ACCIDENT REPORT 12/2021 CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE 3 britanniapandi.com WHAT HAPPENED (CONTINUED) © BRITANNIA P&I CLUB 2024 | AGENTS TO THE MANAGERS: TINDALL RILEY (BRITANNIA) LIMITED | REGIS HOUSE, 45 KING WILLIAM STREET, LONDON EC4R 9AN, UK No.23 | MAY 2024 INCIDENT CASE STUDY 4 FIGURE 4 HATCH CONFGURATION BEFORE AND AT THE TIME OF THE ACCIDENT SOURCE MARINE ACCIDENT INVESTIGATION BRANCH - ACCIDENT REPORT 12/2021 4 At 0600 hours, five stevedores boarded the ship to begin unloading the cargo. The team consisted of a foreman, a stevedore coordinator, a front-end loader driver, and two dockworkers/cleaners. Another team member remained onshore to operate the discharge grab crane. The foreman discussed the unloading plan with the chief officer (C/O) in English and briefed the rest of his team. Unloading started at the aft end of the hold, with the foreman instructing that hatch covers 7 to 11 should be moved once this area completed discharge. The foreman then left the ship while the stevedore coordinator, loader driver, and dockworkers remained on board. The stevedore coordinator directed the shoreside crane operator from the ship’s port side walkway using a handheld radio. To oversee the operation, he climbed the ship’s fixed ladders and leaned over the top of the 2m high hatch coaming to view the progress inside the cargo hold (Figure 5). Meanwhile, the C/O and an able-bodied seaman (AB) remained on board with the C/O monitoring cargo operations and the shi