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1. This circular serves to highlight safety concerns arising from incidents and casualties associated with occupational fatalities. A recent case involved a crew injury during heavy weather conditions, where the vessel experienced severe pitching and continuous green seas over the deck. While securing a loose goose neck flap, the Bosun lost balance, slipped, and struck his leg against a railing, resulting in a severe fracture. He was promptly rescued and evacuated.

The incident was caused by a combination of severe weather conditions, unstable footing due to wet deck surfaces, inadequate securing of loose fittings, and loss of balance during vessel pitching. Additionally, inadequate risk assessment and weather monitoring led to unsafe crew deployment, increasing the likelihood of injury.

While no loss of life reported in this case, the incident resulted in a serious crew injury. This emphasizes the need for ship operators and managers to reassess safe working practices onboard and enhance the Safety Management System (SMS) implementation across vessels.

2. Based on lessons learned from this incident, implementing the following measures can significantly mitigate the risk of recurrence:

​​2.1 Preemptive Risk Assessment & Weather Monitoring

a. Prior to deck operations, the bridge team continuously monitor the real-time weather conditions, including sea state and vessel response, to establish risks associated with crew deployment.

b. When adverse weather conditions and green seas are observed, risk mitigation measures are established and communicated to crew members in advance, and movement to forward/exposed areas is minimized.

c. Designated safe-access routes is identified and communicated before crew deployment.

d. All personnel proceeding to exposed areas wear an appropriate PPE, including non-slip footwear and safety harnesses.

2.2 Emergency Preparedness & Response Protocols

a. Review crew training logs to confirm that adverse weather safety procedures are actively practiced, including regular drills.

b. Assess communication protocols between bridge and deck teams to ensure effectiveness during emergencies.

c. Examine medical response capabilities, including onboard first-aid readiness and evacuation preparedness.

d. Enhance training programs on slip/fall response protocols, emphasizing injury prevention.

e. Establish clear coordination protocols between bridge, engine room, and deck teams during emergencies. 

2.3 Preventive Maintenance & Compliance Checks

a. Ensure scheduled maintenance and inspections for weather-sensitive fittings, drainage systems, and bilge system servicing are conducted diligently.

b. Verify that corrective actions from past incidents have been effectively implemented and documented.

c. Ensure compliance with applicable regulations and industry best practices for shipboard safety in rough sea conditions.

d. Verify proper functioning of Bosun store and Forepeak bilge systems, including alarms, sensors, and drainage capacity.

e. Confirm that Eductor and bilge pumping arrangements are operational, ready for immediate use, and capable of handling accumulated water in adverse conditions.

3. Owners & Managers are to take note of above in order that corrective actions can be taken to avoid similar situations in future.

Enclosure:

• Nil.

This Technical Circular and the material contained in it is provided only for the purpose of supplying current information to the reader and not as an advice to be relied upon by any person. While we have taken utmost care to be as factual as possible, readers/ users are advised to verify the exact text and content of the Regulation from the original source/ issuing Authority.                      

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