Three sailors lucky not to die in Lisahally accident

The accident occurred after the German-owned Blue Note - flying under the flag of Antigua and Barbuda - arrived in Londonderry with a cargo of soda ash from Turkey on July 21.

According to a newly published report into the accident three men were lucky to escape serious injury as a result of the mishap which resulted in the Chief Officer being thrown into the River Foyle between the ship and Lisahally Quay.

Another crew member was left hanging by his fingertips over the hold which was 8.4 metres deep - the equivalent of a three storey building.

And a sailor who was operating the crane ended up failing onto the deck of the ship’s control platform fortunately sustaining only minor injuries.

The seriousness of the incident - reported in the Sentinel today for the first time - merited an investigation by the Department of Transport branch charged with monitoring marine accidents around the UK.

“It is remarkable that all three of the crew escaped with only minor injuries. If the Chief Officer had not fallen cleanly into the gap between the ship and the quayside, if the AB (Able Seaman) had not been able to hold on by his hands as he hung over the hold, or if the crane had not remained upright when it derailed, this accident could have resulted in up to three fatalities,” the investigation concluded.

The authors of the report provided details of the near catastrophe stating: “On July 22, 2011, the hatch-lid gantry crane on board the dry cargo vessel Blue Note derailed while it was carrying a single hatch-lid to its stowed position in preparation for discharging cargo.

“The derailment caused the chief officer, who had been riding on one of the crane’s wheel units, to be thrown overboard; an able seaman, who had been riding on another wheel unit, to be left hanging by his hands over the 8.4m deep hold; and the second officer, who was operating the crane, to fall to the deck of the control platform. All three crewmen were lucky to escape with only minor injuries.”

The Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) inquiry found the “most likely cause of the accident was that the port side lifting hooks of the gantry crane were not correctly engaged with the hatch-lid’s sockets during an operation to move the lid aft to its open stowage position.”

“This led to the port hooks becoming disengaged as the lid was being moved, causing it to fall and pivot about the starboard lifting hooks. The hatch-lid struck the starboard legs of the gantry crane, causing it to derail while the port side continued to fall, finally coming to rest at the bottom of the cargo hold,” the report stated.

The MAIB found the design of the crane made it difficult for the crew to verify is the lifting hooks were correctly engaged and that there was no instruction manual on board.

Neither was the upkeep of the crane a specific part of the ship’s planned maintenance system, nor were their records of repairs to the crane.

“There was no risk assessment covering the operation of the crane and movement of the hatch-lids. As a consequence, ship’s staff had adopted poorly considered working procedures that focused on expediency rather than safety,” the authors stated.

They went on to state: “A recommendation has been made to the owners of Blue Note which is designed to promote general safe working practices across its fleet while specifically addressing the safety issues identified relating to the operation of the gantry crane.

“Recommendations have also been made to the manufacturer of the gantry crane which seek to ensure that ship owners and ships’ staff are provided with clear guidance on the safe operation and maintenance of this equipment.”

MAIB has made a number of safety recommendations as a result of the incident.