A case history
"He had not previously served on this vessel and he knew nothing about her operation."
Modesto Corona had been a ship’s cookfor fifteen years. Despite the prolonged absences from his wife and two children he felt fortunate to have a job at sea which enabled him to support them well. After he had been at home on the west coast of Luzon, Philippines, for only three weeks the manning agency offered him a position as cook on board a large specialist cargo vessel operating between northern Europe and North America. A few days later he flew to Rotterdam to join the vessel for a six month tour of duty.
As he approached the ship from the quayside he was surprised by her unusual design. He had not previously served on this vessel and he knew nothing about her operation but, as a cook, this did not concern him. He was good at his job.
He reported to the Captain, signed articles and was directed to his cabin. He discovered that there was a multinational crew of 14 on board. The master and chief were from Northern Europe, the junior officers and a few ratings were Filipinos and the bosun and the other ratings came from Eastern Europe. Modesto’s knowledge of English was rudimentary but this had not previously been a problem.
The Safety Management System contained details of the cook’s roles and responsibilities but Modesto was surprised to find another document, not part of the SMS, which indicated that everybody was needed to work on deck during mooring operations and in order to help to retrieve and stow the ship’s portable gangway. Nothing had been said about this by the manning agency. The bosun walked him around the deck and explained his role including the labour intensive process of lifting the gangway on board before departure. Modesto had no experience of, or training in, deck work: he was issued with a hard hat, safety boots, gloves and a boiler suit that was too big for him. However he did not like to complain.
Modesto became used to the ship and his additional roles. He got on well with the other Filipino ratings but he found the eastern Europeans unfriendly and difficult to understand. The officers and the master did not invite conversation. Modesto had been on board for about four weeks when, early one morning, he was woken to go on deck to prepare for departure. He quickly put his deck work clothes on and went to the port side of the main deck where four other crew, two ABs, a motorman and the steward, were unlashing the gangway ready to manhandle it up and onto the main deck. He hung back and waited for instructions.
There did not appear to be anyone in charge so, when the end of the ladder appeared above the main deck, Modesto grabbed hold of a steadying line and wrapped it around his hand. The other crew continued to heave the ladder up and over the outboard railing as Modesto pulled the line to try to swing the inboard end around fore and aft. To get a better angle Modesto climbed on top of some pipework and hooked one leg over the inboard railings high above the empty cargo hold. He was a small man and he struggled to get any useful purchase. The ladder continued to be lifted, sliding up and over the outboard rails and Modesto leaned further out over the open hold. Then, suddenly, the ladder movement increased as another crewmember lent a hand. Modesto, still holding the steadying line, was pulled over the railings, falling 6 metres into the hold, and sustaining very serious injuries.