Summary
This safety flash has no central theme, but allows publication of a number of incidents outstanding, that do not fit
into the themes of recent and forthcoming flashes.
1 Fatal Fall from Tug Svitzer Moira
The UK Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) has published a report into a fatal accident when a crew
member fell and was crushed as the tug Svitzer Moira was being manoeuvred alongside an unmanned tug at Royal
Portbury Dock, Bristol, on 29 December 2015.
The MAIB summary highlights the following key issues:
No toolbox talk took place – the job was deemed as routine by the crew and assumptions were made. A toolbox
talk, prior to any hazardous task, is a good opportunity for all crew to have an input, and to ensure all share the
same common goal;
The engineer was not wearing the appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE) at the time of this tragic
accident, though it is unlikely that its use would have changed the outcome;
The investigation found shortcomings in the oversight and control of deck operations and lapses in the use of
PPE, indicative of a significant divergence between company instructions and working practices on board that
had not been corrected by shore management.
The full report can be downloaded here.
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