This investigation report refers to a man overboard incident that took place onboard a chemical tanker. An ordinary seaman fell overboard while he was trying to undo a rope lashing that was attached between the bottom of the pilot ladder and a cleat that was recessed in the ship’s hull and used to hold the pilot ladder against the hull. The accident took place during heavy weather and unfortunately the ordinary seaman was not recovered from the sea and must have been presumed dead.
This investigation report refers to the death of a relieving engineer while boarding the Hong Kong registered bulk carrier Apollo. The relieving Chief Engineer (C/E), who just arrived at the ship’s side after a journey of about 14 hours from Sri Lanka, fell into the water when he was climbing the pilot ladder to board the vessel.
When a vessel was at anchorage, a diving boat was tied up aft of the vessel for some work. A pilot ladder was rigged to let people climb down to the diving boat. While a person was climbing down, the ladder gave way and suffered total rope failure at 6 different points within the top 4 to 5 meters. The person fell and landed on the work deck of the diving boat approximately 10 metres down from the ship’s poop deck.
CARISMA had been on a voyage from Slite to Roenne to take a cargo of sand. The ship arrived at Roenne on 25 January 2011 at 2200. As the loading operation was planned to commence the next morning, it was decided not to rig the gangway until visitors were expected. Half an hour after arrival, a part of the crew left the ship to go ashore. Instead of rigging the gang-way they used a pilot ladder that they rigged on the ship side. Shortly after having arrived at the town centre, one of the crew members felt tired and returned to the ship. At 0020 on 26 of January 2012, the seaman was observed struggling in the water between the ship and the quay. Within ten minutes the seaman was safe, but he died later that night at the hospital in Roenne.
Revised requirements covering some safety aspects of pilot transfer arrangements have been introduced through changes to SOLAS Regulation V/23 and apply to “equipment and arrangements for pilot transfer which are installed on or after 1 July 2012”. Although the revised requirements affect primarily new ships, i.e. ships constructed on or after 1 July 2012, or for which the building contract is placed on or after 1 July 2012, some of the requirements also apply to existing ships constructed before 1 July 2012.
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Officer of the Watch 