‘Decisions made for the sake of expediency are rarely compatible with safety.’ The Nautical Institute gives this advice in its latest Mars Report, in which a shortcut resulted in a fall and injury.
The Nautical Institute gathers reports of maritime accidents and near-misses. It then publishes these so-called Mars (Mariners’ Alerting and Reporting Scheme) Reports (anonymously) to prevent other accidents from happening. A summary of this incident:
On a vessel at anchor, a crew member was assigned to replace a leaking hydraulic pipe on one of the hatch covers. Once the job was completed the crew member attempted to regain the clear deck area by walking over adjacent deck pipes that were about 50 cm above deck level, rather than walking to one of the raised walkways allowing access over the pipelines at regular intervals. While walking over these raised pipes he slipped and fell, with his back striking the raised pipes. He suffered disc lesions to his lower spine.
There are raised walkways allowing access over the pipelines at regular intervals on the main deck.
Also read: Fatal fall from crane grab
Advice from The Nautical Institute
- Decisions made for the sake of expediency are rarely compatible with safety
- Ask yourself, is there a safer way? If the answer is yes, take the safer way
Also read: Routine task ends with fall
Mars Reports
This accident was covered in the Mars Reports, originally published as Mars 202409, that are part of Report Number 376. A selection of the Mars Reports are also published in the SWZ|Maritime magazine. The Nautical Institute compiles these reports to help prevent maritime accidents. That is why they are also published (in full) on SWZ|Maritime’s website.
More reports are needed to keep the scheme interesting and informative. All reports are read only by the Mars coordinator and are treated in the strictest confidence. To submit a report, please use the Mars report form.
Also read: Fatal fall overboard to quay
