Davit head jam went unfixed with deadly results.
On 2 February 2011, while attempting to overcome a problem that had been known for some time but not fixed, the bosun of Hanjin Sydney climbed onto a hatch-coaming, something he had told others not to do, and subsequently fell into a cargo hold. A post-mortem examination concluded that the bosun died as a result of non-survivable injuries to his face, chest, abdomen, limbs and possibly the brain.
On a number of occasions, the bosun had warned the cadet that he should not sit or stand on the top of a cargo hold hatch coaming because it was possible that he may fall into the hold. While this demonstrates that the bosun was aware of the risks associated with climbing onto the top of the hatch coaming, his actions on 2 February show that he was willing to accept those risks himself.
He probably thought that he was suitably experienced; he would only need to be on the hatch coaming for a moment and that it was unlikely that he would fall. So, in an attempt to ‘get the job done’, he accepted the risks associated with climbing onto the coaming of the open cargo hold.
The bosun knew that he should not climb onto the hatch coaming and, in choosing to do so, he violated what was a good rule – the need to complete a working at height permit and adhere to its requirements when working at height.
The crew were lifting iron ore residue from the hold in a 200 litre drum. The cargo runner jammed because the bulldog grips attaching the shackle to the wire had jammed at the head of the davit in between the sheave and the davit head cheeks. It was while trying to unjam the cargo runner. The davit suddenly moved, he lost his balance and fell to to tank top 25 metres below. Continue reading »
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