MAIB cites safety management failures in fatal crush accident on Ro-Ro vessel

Safety issues

The MAIB said the deceased crewmember had passed behind the trailer, probably assuming that it was safe to do so because it had completed manoeuvring. The tug driver was therefore unaware of the crewmember’s position and reversed the trailer to realign it, and this action ended up crushing the crewmember against the vessel’s structure.

The vessel operators had instigated a new procedure for vehicle deck safety. The MAIB said, however, that there were weaknesses in its training and implementation, and it was not well understood by the crew working on the vehicle deck who routinely entered the danger zone around moving vehicles.

The tug driver’s knowledge of danger zones and the requirement to stop when a crewmember was out of sight did not align with their actual working practices.

The MAIB found that supervision on the vehicle deck was ineffective, and the vessel’s management company had not provided effective assurance to confirm that the new safety procedure had been understood or fully implemented on board.