One worker died, two injured when vessel struck dock
Date of incident: December 2019
Notice of incident number: 2019155610019
Employer: Fish-farming company
Incident summary
Three workers departed a fish farm in a 5 m aluminum work vessel. Within seconds after the vessel was up to speed, the vessel struck a stationary 10 m × 10 m floating dock that was situated near the farm’s fish pens. One of the workers was thrown over the bow of the vessel and onto the dock; he sustained fatal injuries. The other two workers were injured when they fell to the floor of the vessel, causing the centre console to collapse under their weight.
Investigation conclusions
Cause
- Vessel collided with dock due to operator distraction. Immediately prior to the incident, the worker operating the vessel had been talking with another crewmember. Had the vessel operator been focused on operating the vessel, he would have avoided striking the dock.
Contributing factors
- Procedures not followed. Contrary to several of the employer’s procedures, the vessel was moving at full speed while departing the fish farm.
- Emergency assistance not immediately available. The dock where the incident took place was a distance from the fish farm that the workers in the vessel had departed from. The fish farm’s site vessel was in use at another location, so the workers at the farm had no way to reach the incident site. The availability of a vessel would have allowed for a much quicker response by the fish farm’s crew to assist the injured workers and possibly transport the worker who died of his injuries to a hospital for medical treatment.
2021-04-22 20:42:33