OSV Engineer Electrocuted While Troubleshooting a Mud Pump

The U.S. Coast Guard has released the results of an investigation into the death of an engineer aboard the OSV Red Stag in Port Fourchon, Louisiana in 2023. The crewmember was electrocuted after opening a high voltage electrical panel without authorization.

On the afternoon of October 13, 2023, Red Stag was moored alongside at the Adriatic Marine dock in Port Fourchon, and was preparing for its next charter. At about 2000 hours, the vessel's first engineer adjusted ballast by activating the vessel's mud pump system, turning it on and off using the emergency stop button on the aft deck rather than the control panel belowdecks. When finished, he left the e-stop in the "off" position. This is normal practice, according to the Coast Guard.

At 2330 hours, the crew conducted a watch change. The oncoming engineering watchstander, the "unqualified engineer," was tasked with cleaning the engine room.

At about 0530 hours, the unqualified engineer asked the deckhand where he could find a voltage meter. The deckhand did not know, and didn't know why his crewmate needed it. This was the last time that anyone saw the unqualified engineer alive.

Sometime thereafter, the unqualified engineer opened up the 480-volt electrical panel for the mud pump system. His body was found in front of the panel at about 0640, and his fingerprints were later found on a high voltage conductor inside the open panel door.

The master called emergency medical services on his cell, and the crew started CPR. The man could not be revived and was pronounced dead at 0740. His death was ruled accidental by the county coroner.

According to the Coast Guard, the unqualified engineer was training for his engineering license but was not qualified to access and work on the 480-volt panel for the mud pump. It is unknown why he opened the panel, but the Coast Guard suspects that he was unaware that the pump e-stop on deck was turned off. He then bypassed company safety policies and attempted to troubleshoot it himself.

"It is reasonable to assume that if the Unqualified Engineer was more experienced with the operation of the mud pump system, he may have verified the status of the pump’s emergency stop and de-activated it, preventing him from having to open the 480 volt panel and prevented the incident from occurring," the Coast Guard concluded.

The investigators also noted that Red Stag lacked some form of an indicator to show that the e-stop was activated; if an indicator had been present, the engineer might have realized that the system was already working as designed. Likewise, a lock on the cabinet would have prevented unauthorized access.

The operating company initiated a fleetwide safety stand-down after the fatality to review policies with all crewmembers. The Coast Guard found no regulatory breaches, and made no additional recommendations.