(www.MaritimeCyprus.com) This report, published on January 9, 2026, by the Republic of the Marshall Islands Maritime Administrator, investigates a fatal occupational accident that occurred on March 10, 2025, aboard the bulk carrier AMPHITRITE in the Java Sea. The casualty took place while the crew was attempting a non-routine task to free the ship's port anchor, which had become stuck in the hawse pipe due to heavy clay and mud. During a third attempt to dislodge the anchor using a hydraulic jack, the anchor moved suddenly, pinning two crewmembers. The incident resulted in the death of the ship's Fitter and serious injuries to the Bosun.
Near the end of the regular workday on 10 March 2025, crewmembers on board the Republic of the Marshall Islandsregistered AMPHITRITE, managed by Diana Shipping Services S.A. (the “Company”), were attempting to use a hydraulic jack to free the ship’s port anchor, which was stuck in the port side hawse pipe. Two prior attempts, the first using mooring lines on 9 March 2025 and the second using a hydraulic jack on the morning of 10 March 2025, were unsuccessful. At the time, the ship was underway on the Java Sea en route to Singapore. The anchor was secured using the windlass brake, chain stopper, and lashings. The existing and forecasted weather along the ship’s planned route was good.
For the third attempt to free the anchor, the ship’s Fitter and Bosun climbed down into the port side hawse pipe to put the hydraulic jack in place. The anchor moved suddenly as the Fitter and Bosun were climbing out of the hawse pipe after putting the jack in place. The Bosun, whose abdomen and legs were caught between the anchor chain and the hawse pipe, was seriously injured. Crewmembers were able to remove him from the hawse pipe by using a chain fall with wire sling to lift the anchor chain off of his abdomen and legs. The Fitter, whose torso was pinned between the anchor shank and the hawse pipe, suffered fatal injuries. He was later removed from the hawse pipe with the assistance of shore-based emergency response personnel.
The marine safety investigation conducted by the Republic of the Marshall Islands Maritime Administrator determined that the decision to have crewmembers undertake a non-routine task and try multiple times to free the port anchor was made without assessing the risk of the anchor damaging the ship’s hull or being lost while the ship was en route to Singapore, or without consulting with the Company. The investigation also determined that not all reasonably foreseeable hazards associated with the use of either the mooring lines or a hydraulic jack had been identified during the pre-task risk assessments and that the Master and crewmembers had a false sense that it was safe to enter the hawse pipe. In addition, it was determined that some crewmembers recognized that it was not safe to enter the hawse pipe but had not exercised their stop-work authority, which they were aware that they had.
Lessons learned identified
- Entering a hawse pipe containing an anchor or anchor chain for any reason is dangerous.
- Having an anchor stuck in the hawse pipe is a non-standard condition that even experienced seafarers may not encounter during their careers. Accordingly, freeing a stuck anchor is a non-routine task for which an established procedure likely does not exist.
- Non-routine shipboard tasks should not be undertaken without completing an assessment of all available alternative options, including waiting until arrival at port where appropriate shore-side support is available.
- Pre-task risk assessments can contribute to ensuring that routine and non-routine tasks can be conducted safely by providing a systematic means of identifying hazards associated with the planned task and controls for reducing the potential that a hazard will occur or the consequences if it does. To be effective, a pretask risk assessment must address all reasonably foreseeable hazards associated with the task and the existing conditions for when it will be conducted. They also must not underestimate or downplay the potential consequences of the identified hazards or overestimate or exaggerate the potential effectiveness of the identified controls.
- The use of stop-work authority can prevent marine casualties. For stop-work authority to be effective, crewmembers must not only be aware that they have this authority, but they must also have confidence that the authority is non-negotiable and can be exercised without fear of repercussion. They must also have sufficient situational awareness to recognize when an unsafe act or condition exists. Crewmembers must also be as familiar with how to issue and respond to a stop-work action or instruction as they are with their other shipboard duties.
For more details, click below to download the full Marshall Islands investigation report:
Source: Marshall Islands Flag Administration
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