Fatality and serious injuries on board a bulk carrier whilst underway

Giulia I departed from the port of Norfolk, USA, bound for Bizerte, Tunisia on 26 January 2021. During the voyage, the vessel experienced inclement weather and the voyage plan was progressively amended, based on the advice received from a weather routeing service. On 29 January 2021, the eductor was started to pump out the water from the forecastle store, which was found flooded. Next day, five deck crew members, including the deck cadet, were instructed to extract the remaining water from the forecastle store and chain lockers, using portable pumps. The vessel’s course was altered to minimize the rolling and pitching and thus, facilitate the safety of the deck ratings. Whilst the crew members were covering the spurling pipes, a large wave washed over the forecastle deck. All the crew members were swept across the forecastle. Injured crew members were helped back to the accommodation. The vessel diverted to a port but one of the injured crew members succumbed to his injuries whilst en route.

 

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We are grateful to the Transport Malta Marine Safety Investigation Unit for providing details.  We acknowledge their commitment to sharing learning to benefit others.  If you have similar operations, please share this information with managers, operatives and any potentially affected third parties as appropriate.  Please also review any of your relevant operations for similar hazardous conditions, risks, and controls.

 

Learning content like this is highly valuable as it is based on real-world experience.  We encourage everyone with publishable information about incidents to send it to us, so that we can raise awareness across the whole industry.  Please contact us at secretariat@ichca.com; sharing your insight could save a life or prevent injury.”