HONG KONG's Marine Department has issued a warning about safe handling of containers after the death of sailor on board a container vessel during cargo unloading operations.
A Marine Department Notice says the accident occurred while containers were being discharged from the cargo ship onto a barge.
"The barge listed towards the containership due to uneven disposition of containers loaded on the barge," said the notice.
At the time of the accident, when a container was being lifted up by the crane of the barge from the containership, the barge further listed towards the ship.
"Suddenly, containers stacked on the barge collapsed resulting in four of the containers falling onto a hatch cover of the containership. The victim, who was working on top of the hatch cover, was crushed and killed by the falling containers," said the report.
Investigation into the accident revealed containers stowed in the cargo hold of the barge were not evenly distributed to prevent listing of the barge.
The containers in the cargo hold of the barge were not properly secured and no risk assessment was conducted prior to commencement of works.
The Marine Department said the lessons learnt were that it is important to have containers evenly distributed to prevent causing vessel heeling.
And finally, containers should be adequately secured by twist-locks, stacking cones and lashing equipment, and the cargo work should be well-planned and the risks should be assessed taking into consideration of the ship's stability under cargo operations, said the Marine Department notice.
ACCIDENTS
09 August 2015 - 21:27
Hong Kong Marine Department issues warning after fatal barge loading
HONG KONG's Marine Department has issued a warning about safe handling of containers after the death of sailor on board a container vessel during cargo unloading operations.
ACCIDENTS
09 August 2015 - 21:27
Hong Kong Marine Department issues warning after fatal barge loading
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