201250 Fracture injury during mooring operation

(Edited from Marine Safety Forum Safety Flash 12-26)

A seaman (AB 1) was recovering mooring lines after the vessel unberthed. While attempting to remove a recovered hawser off a dead man (or pedestal) fairlead roller, his hand got trapped between the mooring line and the roller. As his hand was dragged around the fairlead, his arm was twisted and fractured.

Result of investigation
Another AB (AB 2) and one trainee seaman, who was operating the winch, were involved in the operation. AB 1, in his statement, recounted telling the other two seamen that he was intending to take the rope off the fairlead but did not get acknowledgement of this from them. The trainee seaman, who was driving the winch did not have any visual or verbal contact with AB 1 when he started hoisting the mooring line. Failed communication between team members was considered to be
the main cause of the incident, as well as a lack of attention to his own safety on the part of AB 1. Moreover, the electrical winch had no emergency stop arrangement. It was also observed that when the control lever was moved to the stop position, the winch drum did not stop immediately, but continued to rotate a further half revolution. This incident reinforces the importance of proper work planning, risk assessment, toolbox talk and effective communication between all personnel involved in a task or operation. It is also very important that winch operators are properly trained so that they are fully familiar with all features of the winch, including all emergency devices.