| Figure 1 – injuries sustained as a result of being struck by falling twistlock. See link to “The National Tribune 2024, Falling dislodged auto twistlock struck deckforeman / team leader” in the full safety alert. |
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| Under typical design conditions, container twistlocks will remain in their corner pockets for the transfer of the container to the quay or stow. However, twistlocks that have become damaged, worn or have not been correctly maintained may fall from corner pockets during lifting operations. |
| Furthermore, correctly functioning twistlocks may still fall out if the corner pockets on the container itself have become sufficiently damaged or deformed. |
| The prime rule that people should never be under a suspended/moving load may not, on its own, provide sufficient protection as falling twistlocks may ricochet off a surface during the fall and travel a considerable horizontal distance. |
| Controls for these hazards are primarily administrative and challenging to enforce in a dynamic operational environment. |
| Failure of twistlocks to provide the expected securing may also increase risk of loss of containers at sea. |
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| Incident: In 2023 a team leader at a member terminal was struck by a falling twistlock |
| It is likely that the head protection that he was wearing, saved his life. However the trauma was severe as can be seen in the images in this safety alert. The injured worker agreed to images being shared to help raise awareness of this risk (figures 1 and 2). |
| The investigation concluded that the twistlock dislodged from a five high fitting, striking the vessel team leader. The twistlock became dislodged because the twistlock locator pin failed while loading into a blind cell on deck. |
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