Inadequate defences led to May 2013 accidental death of a crew member aboard a bulk carrier in Baie-Comeau, Quebec

QUÉBEC, May 1, 2014 /CNW/ - Today, the Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) released its marine investigation report (M13L0055) into an accidental death of a crew member in Baie-Comeau, Quebec aboard the bulk carrier Federal Yoshino on 8 May 2013.

While at anchor off of Baie-Comeau, one of the crew members was in a basket attached to a provision crane to paint a recently-repaired engine room vent. While maneuvering the crane, the hoisting cable broke and the basket fell approximately 5 metres before landing on the deck. The crew member was fatally injured.

The investigation found that the basket fell because the crane block above the basket exceeded its upward travel limit. The switch that was designed to prevent the upward travel beyond the set limit was improperly rigged, and thus did not function as designed. Additionally, the crew member could not see that the crane block was beyond its upward limit. As such, the crane block made contact with the underside of the crane's boom and the hoisting cable continued to pull, causing it to snap due to overstress, and the basket fell towards the deck. Animations of the event have been produced as part of this investigation.

Following the occurrence, the vessel owner and vessel management company immediately issued instructions to stop the use of provision cranes for lifting personnel. The vessel classification society Det Norske Veritas Germanischer Lloyd and the flag state, the Marshall Islands, also issued recommendations to prevent the use of lifting equipment to transport personnel and to take additional precautions when crew members work aloft.

The TSB is an independent agency that investigates marine, pipeline, railway and aviation transportation occurrences. Its sole aim is the advancement of transportation safety. It is not the function of the Board to assign fault or determine civil or criminal liability.

SOURCE: Transportation Safety Board of Canada

Transportation Safety Board of Canada
Media Relations
819-994-8053

The TSB is online at www.tsb.gc.ca. Keep up to date through RSS, Twitter @TSBCanada, YouTube, Flickr and our blog.