202068 Crew crushed by moving gantry crane

As edited from the official Dutch Safety Board report published May 2018

The vessel had discharged a cargo of china clay (kaolinite) in bulk, which is a white, greasy substance which is liable to stick everywhere, making conditions slippery. The next cargo was to be paper but before it could be loaded, the hold and the hatches needed to be completely clean. A short safety briefing was held before the cleaning began in which the risks associated with working with the mobile gantry crane were discussed. Crew then began cleaning the coamings, the deck, and the structure.
The coaming was cleaned with the help of the ship’s main gantry crane which had a safety acoustic signal when it was moving. By slowly moving the crane over the coaming, it was possible for a person on the crane structure to clean the coaming with a hose. Several members of the crew were involved in the cleaning work; a crane operator, the hoseman secured to the crane, a cable duty person on the port side and a hose guide who was receiving instructions via his VHF radio.
The port side was cleaned without incident and work started on the starboard side, proceeding from aft to forward. The crane operator was looking astern and the hose-man on the crane was spraying the coaming on the starboard side. The hose guide had last been seen extending the hose on the starboard side. He was contacted via his VHF, but he did not respond. Shortly afterwards, the hose guide was found lying on the deck on the port side, having been struck by the crane. Assistance was given but the victim succumbed to his injuries.
The official investigation found that it was probable that the victim had been seeking to close the cap on the hatch coaming drainage pipe, and had been struck by the  moving crane in the process. The investigation was unable to establish why the victim had climbed up at exactly the moment the crane passed by.

Lessons learned

• An audible gantry crane alarm, such as the one in this accident, is not a guarantee that all will go according to plan.
• Gantry crane operators are essentially driving blind as they often cannot see if the track is clear of personnel.
• This is not the first gantry crane accident and unfortunately probably not the last. Some additional safeguards appear necessary during gantry crane operations for the situation to become safer. Some past MARS reports can be found at 201525, 201460 and 98058.