201958 Fingers crushed while closing hatch

16 Sep 2019 MARS

The duty officer was closing a ballast tank dome hatch. Upon removing its locking pin, he took the weight of hatch in both hands (1 in photo simulation). To give extra support while lowering the hatch lid, he removed his left hand from the lid and placed it over the coaming of the ballast tank (2). His right hand, which was holding the hatch lid, slipped and the lid fell over his left hand causing a severe crush injury (3). He received first aid and was evacuated for shore medical attention.

 

Lessons learned

  • As in the previous MARS report, mundane tasks that have always been done a certain way can nonetheless present serious risks that are invisible to the crew. How would you prevent this accident from happening?
  • Are hatch covers such as this one, as they are presently designed, too heavy to be safely closed by one person?
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