(www.MaritimeCyprus.com) The Bahamas Maritime Authority (BMA) has released an investigation report on an incident involving a crew member of the Fri Sea who fell overboard and later died while rigging a pilot ladder at night.
What happened
On the evening of 28 March 2024, the Bahamas flagged coastal general cargo vessel, Fri Sea, was outbound from Groveport, UK. After rigging the pilot ladder, one seafarer returned to the accommodation whilst the other stayed on deck to smoke a cigarette. Around fifteen minutes later the master called the seafarer on the handheld radio to say that the pilot was ready to disembark but got no reply. Having called several times, the master went to the messroom and instigated a search on deck. At 22:50 the master informed the pilot that they had a potential man overboard at which point the pilot asked the master to raise the alarm, informed vessel traffic services and stopped engines. The pilot boat, which was about to collect a pilot from the vessel ahead, quickly started a search and they were joined by multiple air and sea assets.
The search continued through the night but the seafarer’s body was found, washed ashore, next morning.
Why it happened
A post-mortem indicated that the victim died as a result of acute myocardial ischaemia, ischaemic heart disease and severe coronary artery atheroma. There were no signs of drowning. Notwithstanding the cause of death, the victim was on deck, in the dark and alone, in close proximity to an opening in the ship’s rails with no fall protection or personal floatation device. There were no lifejackets suitable for work onboard the vessel and no administrative barriers that related to the task.
What we can learn
Operators and crew may be blind to a risk that is an integral part of their operation. Proximity to openings in ship’s rails massively increases the risk of falling overboard. Where risk of falling overboard exists, control measures such as a lifejacket and fall prevention devices must be used. The Bahamas has recorded an increase in medical emergencies as a result of a seafarer’s underlying health condition that has not been identified as part of a medical examination. A routine medical may not be sufficient to alert seafarers and operators to potential medical issues onboard. A holistic approach to seafarer health may be beneficial. The importance of providing search and rescue coordinators with full and correct information cannot be overstated.
For more information, click below to download the full investigation report:
Source: BMA
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