At the time of the incident the subject vessel was alongside loading bulk cargo. At the same time heavy fuel oil was being loaded from a bunker barge. Weather conditions were good but it was very cold (-20 C°) and there was thick ice and snow on deck.
The Club is aware of a number of accidents occurring during the making fast or letting go of a tow. In another case, a carpenter was killed after being struck on the neck by a messenger line jumping off a warping drum.
After discharging a cargo of naphtha, the vessel was then fixed to load gas oil, in preparation for which, all cargo tanks and lines were washed with fresh water and stripped dry.
The vessel loaded a full cargo of soya beans in North America for discharge in the Far East. The voyage was performed in the Northern Winter season during which orders were received to stem fuel oil bunkers at an intermediate port.
The duty engineer and oiler were assigned the job of replacing a damaged diesel generator exhaust gas thermometer requiring a section of the exhaust manifold to be dismantled. While doing this, he leant backwards to avoid dust blowing into his face with the result that he lost his balance and fell from the platform on to the deck more than two metres below.
Anchoring a vessel requires to be very carefully planned taking into account the prevailing and forecast weather, current, depth of water, proximity of other vessels, navigational hazards and the capability of the anchoring machinery.
