This morning, The Canadian Coast Guard transmitted the Ship Safety Bulletin linked to below. It prefaces the Bulletin in the following manner:
"On May 19, 2019, the second officer of M/V Maersk Patras tragically died when he fell overboard his vessel near Les Escoumins, Quebec.
Because of the accident, Transport Canada Marine Safety and Security wants to remind agents, terminal operators and masters about the requirements of Canadian and International regulations for safe securing of cargo on vessels.
Following below, we will describe requirements for cargo securing operations and specifically for lashing/unlashing containers on board vessels."
Mate presumed dead after falling overboard in St. Lawrence River
Jul 31, 2019 02:51 PM
BY CASEY CONLEY
Courtesy Zeesenboot/Flickr
Maersk Patras, shown in Gdansk, Poland, in 2013 before being reflagged, was en route from Montreal to Europe on May 19 when a crewmember went overboard near Les Escoumins, Quebec. The victim was not wearing a PFD, according to a Canadian Coast Guard spokesman.
The second officer of a Singapore-flagged containership is presumed dead after falling into the St. Lawrence River near Les Escoumins, Quebec.
The unidentified victim, a Sri Lankan national, was working on deck aboard the 689-foot Maersk Patras. The crewmember fell into the chilly river at about 0930 on May 19. The ship was approaching the Les Escoumins Pilot Station at the time to board a pilot.
Canadian authorities and good Samaritan ships searched for the missing man until dusk on May 19. His remains have not been found.
Maersk said the crewmember was engaged in cargo lashing and unlashing just before the incident. “This operation is normally regarded as a safe activity and approved by the Canadian authorities,” company spokeswoman Katherine Mosquera said.
The victim was not wearing a personal flotation device (PFD), according to Stacy Dufour of the Canadian Coast Guard’s Maritime Search and Rescue Centre. Mosquera said “safety gear is required to do this type of work and this policy is enforced within Maersk.” She did not directly address the victim’s lack of a PFD.
Transport Canada (TC) is still investigating the incident and has not released any details about the cause.
“The information gathered will be carefully analyzed and any necessary action will be taken at the appropriate time,” TC spokesman Simon Rivet said in an email. “It is premature to draw conclusions regarding the causes of the accident. If any practices are found to be causative factors, they will be analyzed and addressed.”
The 2,902-TEU Maersk Patras was en route from Europe to Montreal as part of a regular run when the crewmember went over the side. Dufour said another crewmember was working nearby when the second officer went overboard. It is not clear if the other person witnessed the incident or if it was recorded by closed-circuit cameras.
The ship was about two nautical miles from Les Escoumins at the time. Weather conditions during the search, which began almost immediately after the deck officer went overboard, were favorable. The swell in the river was less than 3 feet, with 10- to 15-knot winds, Dufour said.
“One major factor was the (river) water was only 6 degrees Celsius in that area (about 43 degrees Fahrenheit),” he said. “The water is very cold, so if someone gets into the water for any time we can definitely think they would be suffering from hypothermia.”
The Canadian Coast Guard deployed search crews via air and water until 2000. The Laurentian Pilot Authority and other commercial vessels operating nearby also assisted with the effort. “There was good visibility and we definitely saturated the area,” Dufour said.
Maersk contacted the victim’s family after the incident and made crisis counseling available to other crew aboard the 21-year-old ship.
“It is a tragic situation for the family and we have offered them our full support,” Soren Toft, chief operating officer of A.P. Moller-Maersk, said in a prepared statement. “My deepest condolences and thoughts go to them.”
The unidentified victim, a Sri Lankan national, was working on deck aboard the 689-foot Maersk Patras. The crewmember fell into the chilly river at about 0930 on May 19. The ship was approaching the Les Escoumins Pilot Station at the time to board a pilot.
Canadian authorities and good Samaritan ships searched for the missing man until dusk on May 19. His remains have not been found.
Maersk said the crewmember was engaged in cargo lashing and unlashing just before the incident. “This operation is normally regarded as a safe activity and approved by the Canadian authorities,” company spokeswoman Katherine Mosquera said.
The victim was not wearing a personal flotation device (PFD), according to Stacy Dufour of the Canadian Coast Guard’s Maritime Search and Rescue Centre. Mosquera said “safety gear is required to do this type of work and this policy is enforced within Maersk.” She did not directly address the victim’s lack of a PFD.
Transport Canada (TC) is still investigating the incident and has not released any details about the cause.
“The information gathered will be carefully analyzed and any necessary action will be taken at the appropriate time,” TC spokesman Simon Rivet said in an email. “It is premature to draw conclusions regarding the causes of the accident. If any practices are found to be causative factors, they will be analyzed and addressed.”
The 2,902-TEU Maersk Patras was en route from Europe to Montreal as part of a regular run when the crewmember went over the side. Dufour said another crewmember was working nearby when the second officer went overboard. It is not clear if the other person witnessed the incident or if it was recorded by closed-circuit cameras.
The ship was about two nautical miles from Les Escoumins at the time. Weather conditions during the search, which began almost immediately after the deck officer went overboard, were favorable. The swell in the river was less than 3 feet, with 10- to 15-knot winds, Dufour said.
“One major factor was the (river) water was only 6 degrees Celsius in that area (about 43 degrees Fahrenheit),” he said. “The water is very cold, so if someone gets into the water for any time we can definitely think they would be suffering from hypothermia.”
The Canadian Coast Guard deployed search crews via air and water until 2000. The Laurentian Pilot Authority and other commercial vessels operating nearby also assisted with the effort. “There was good visibility and we definitely saturated the area,” Dufour said.
Maersk contacted the victim’s family after the incident and made crisis counseling available to other crew aboard the 21-year-old ship.
“It is a tragic situation for the family and we have offered them our full support,” Soren Toft, chief operating officer of A.P. Moller-Maersk, said in a prepared statement. “My deepest condolences and thoughts go to them.”
Requirements for safe securing of containers and other cargoes on board vessels - SSB No.: 14/2019
RDIMS No.: 15530310
Date (Y-M-D) : 2019-11-26
Date (Y-M-D) : 2019-11-26
We issue Ship Safety Bulletins for the marine community. Visit our Website at www.tc.gc.ca/ssb-bsn to view existing bulletins and to sign up to receive e-mail notices of new ones.
On May 19, 2019, the second officer of M/V Maersk Patras tragically died when he fell overboard his vessel near Les Escoumins, Quebec.
Because of the accident, Transport Canada Marine Safety and Security wants to remind agents, terminal operators and masters about the requirements of Canadian and International regulations for safe securing of cargo on vessels.
Following below, we will describe requirements for cargo securing operations and specifically for lashing/unlashing containers on board vessels.
In Canada, the master of a vessel has to follow section 105 of the Cargo, Fumigation and Tackle Regulations which requires that you follow Regulation 5.6 of Chapter VI of SOLAS. This regulation explains the requirements for securing cargoes.
According to the Regulation, you have to load, stow and secure all cargoes, other than bulk cargoes, following the Cargo Securing Manual approved by the ship's flag Administration. For ro-ro spaces, you have to follow SOLAS regulations, which require that you secure cargoes before the ship leaves the berth.
In any other situation, including container ships and containers carried in cargo spaces other than ro-ro spaces, SOLAS doesn't direct shipmasters or ports whether the cargo securing operations should be finished before or after leaving the berth. In these cases, the shipmaster makes the decision about starting and finishing cargo securing operations on board the vessel.
Regulation 5.6 of Chapter VI of SOLAS also requires that you write your Cargo Securing Manual to a standard at least equal to the IMO Guidelines on the Preparation of the Cargo Securing Manual (MSC.1/Circ.1353/Rev.1). The Guidelines take into account the requirements of the Code of Safe Practice for Cargo Stowage and Securing (CSS Code).
The Cargo Securing Manual must have safety instructions for handling securing devices and for securing and unsecuring of containers or other standardized cargo by ship or shore workers. For more details, you can check MSC.1/Circ.1353/Rev.1, Chapter 4 – Stowage and securing of Containers and other standardized Cargo, paragraph 4.1.2.
According to the CSS Code, Annex 14 (Guidance on Providing Safe Working Conditions for Securing of Containers on Deck), workers who are securing cargo have to be trained in the lashing and unlashing of containers as necessary to carry out their duties in a safe way (par. 4.4.1).
The workers also have to be trained in safe systems of work. When workers are working at heights, they should be trained in the use of relevant equipment. It is important that workers use fall protection equipment and fall arrest systems. Transport Canada suggests fall arrest systems as the primary equipment for fall safety, but the decision on which system should be the primary fall safety equipment should be based on the specific situation.
The ship owner should develop a safe method of work and put it in place on the vessel to make sure the lashers are safe when they are on the top of container stows on deck (par.7.2.2.3).
Workers have to secure cargo and specifically do container lashing and unlashing operations as described in the procedures under the ship's approved Safety Management System (SMS). These procedures have to comply with the requirements of the International Safety Management Code. For more details, check Chapter IX of SOLAS and/or the Safety Management Regulations under the CSA, 2001.
Finally, the master of a vessel has to take all reasonable steps to make sure that the vessel and the people on board, including workers, are safe. This is a requirement of section 109 of the Canada Shipping Act, 2001.
The shipmaster has the overall responsibility for making sure that the securing of all cargoes, including container lashing and unlashing, is done safely and follows the approved Cargo Securing Manual and the procedures under the ship's Safety Management System (SMS).
Keywords
1. container
2. lashing
3. cargo securing
2. lashing
3. cargo securing
Questions concerning this Bulletin should be addressed to:
AMSEA/B
Ahmed Sewelam
613-991-3143
Ahmed Sewelam
613-991-3143
Transport Canada
Marine Safety and Security
Tower C, Place de Ville
330 Sparks Street, 10th Floor
Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0N8
Marine Safety and Security
Tower C, Place de Ville
330 Sparks Street, 10th Floor
Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0N8
Ron Signorino Longshore Safety
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