Shipping company fined $54,000 after stevedore fell, shattering bones

Thursday, 9 July 2020

The stevedore fell eight metres onto concrete when a handrail broke on the log carrier.

A Singapore-based shipping company has been fined and ordered to pay thousands to a worker who almost died in fall on a ship moored at the Port of Tauranga.

The 28-year-old stevedore fell eight metres, shattering the bones in his legs and arms and suffering internal injuries that saw him hospitalised for 56 days, undergoing multiple surgeries after the fall on December 19, 2017.

China Navigation Company Ltd was fined $24,000 and ordered to pay $30,000 to the man in Tauranga District Court recently after pleading guilty to a charge under the Maritime Transport Act for “dangerous activity involving ships and marine products”.

Poor maintenance and poor communication caused the incident that almost killed the young stevedore, Maritime NZ Central Region Compliance Manager, Michael-Paul Abbott, said in a statement released by MNZ.

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The handrail broke at the base where it had been welded back onto the ship while docked in India.

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“Shipping companies must ensure they carry out maintenance correctly and if there are any risks from using equipment on the ship they must tell people using the ship so they can protect themselves.”

The log carrier, Pakhoi, was docked in India in July 2017 where the handrail that eventually broke was damaged by stevedores. It became detached and was welded back onto the ship.

The fall occurred at the The Port of Tauranga in December, 2017.

The repair work was poor and would not comply with the requirements of an approved structural steelwork standard. The hand rail and the ladder below it were unsafe to use, a summary of the incident states.

On 18 December 2017 the Pakhoi arrived in Tauranga to load logs. Neither the master of the Pakhoi or any members of the ship’s crew conveyed any information about the repairs undertaken to the hand rail and ladder to Mount Maunganui stevedoring company, ISO Limited during loading.

At about 7.20pm on December 19, 2017 the stevedore went to leave the Pakhoi for a scheduled break.

He grabbed hold of the hand rail, which immediately broke completely free at the base where it had been welded.

The stevedore fell about eight metres to the concrete wharf below, shattering bones in his legs and arms, fracturing vertebrae and suffering severe internal injuries.

He was saved from serious head injury by his helmet and his backpack riding up under his head as he fell.

The man remained in hospital for 56 days following the incident and underwent a number of surgeries. His injuries will affect him for the rest of his life, the statement said.

Maritime NZ also charged the injured man’s employer ISO Ltd under the Health and Safety at Work Act.

The action against ISO has been resolved by Maritime NZ agreeing to an enforceable undertaking with ISO to make significant investments into various programmes aimed at improving health and safety for stevedores at work. ISO also supported the stevedore and his family.

The maximum penalty for this offence is $100,000 under the MTA, compared with $1.5 million under the HSWA. An overseas shipping company cannot be charged under the HSWA.