BMA Investigation: Seafarer loses life after falling through open hatch cover

October 30 ------ The Bahamas Maritime Authority (BMA) has issued an investigation report into an incident where a seafarer lost his life after falling through an open hatch cover into a cargo hold during washing operations.

What happened

ABahamas registered bulk carrier was on a two day ballast voyage. The incident occurred on 01 April 2026, at approximately 13:50 local time, while the vessel was underway in the Caribbean Sea between the Dominican Republic and Colombia, at position 15°43.01′N, 71°41.32′W.

In preparation for the next loading port, the deck crew had to wash the cargo holds, conveyor boom, and main deck area. The daily work plan and work at height permit were completed in the morning after a team meeting with the chief officer.

The bosun, who was the on deck supervisor, and the ordinary seafarer, opened the hatches of each cargo hold for ventilation and illumination. The able seafarers were responsible for conducting the cargo hold washing and an ordinary seafarer was tasked with washing the conveyor belt inside the cargo boom.

In the afternoon, the ordinary seafarer walked on top of the starboard hatch cover for cargo hold 4 to wash the starboard side of the boom. While walking on top of the hatch cover he fell through the gap between the hatch covers into the cargo hold.

Despite best efforts by the shipboard medical response, he did not survive the fall.

Why it happened

The assigned work was not carried out as planned throughout the day. It was expected that the ordinary seafarer would walk along the protected catwalk on the boom to carry out his assigned washing. This task was not included in the working at height permit.

The ordinary seafarer may have felt constrained by time due to the short voyage duration.

Before the incident, at least two crew members saw the ordinary seafarer walking on top of the cargo hold hatch cover arranging his hose to begin washing the starboard side of the boom. Neither crew member instructed or directed him to go back into the catwalk area, or implement additional safeguards.

The deck crew had a normalized practice of being on top of hatch covers when opened, despite the daily work plan stating “hatch cover to be washed in closed position”. Fall prevention devices were available on board but not in use by the casualty at the time of occurrence.

Conclusions

An ordinary seaman fell from height while walking on top of the starboard side hatch cover for cargo hold 4 when washing down the conveyor boom. He was wearing personal protective equipment to protect from wet surfaces and debris, but he was not wearing fall prevention equipment. The hatch covers were opened and were unmarked and unguarded.

The daily work plan was prepared by the chief officer. It was not imagined that the ordinary seafarer would leave the protection of the boom’s catwalk to complete the task. As such, the ordinary seafarer was not included in the working at height permit required by the safety management system.

Despite procedural controls, walking on the open hatch covers was normal. When the ordinary seafarer deviated from the imagined work plan, at least two other more experienced crew members interacted with him, neither highlighted the risk or otherwise challenged the practice. The on deck supervisor was also on top of an unmarked and unguarded hatch cover. While he was wearing a harness, it was not connected to anything and therefore offered no protection.

While fatigue could not be assessed to be a leading contributory factor, the rest hour schedules, along with rotations in port and at sea demonstrates a normalcy in operations to provide compensatory rest when the vessel was on shorter voyages. This meant crew were expected to work shifts that contribute to fatigue and could expect compensatory rest as a “reward”. This practice is conducted across the global merchant fleet whereas it should only be the case during emergency, drill, inspection windows and other operations outside the control of the ship’s crew and operators.

Actions taken

As a result of the casualty the ship manager has:

• Conducted a safety stand-down with all crew members to review procedures for cargo hold cleaning, fall prevention, permit to work controls and supervision arrangements

• Developed a specific risk assessment for cargo boom washing to be used during JSA process

• Conducted a fleet wide campaign to increase awareness by highlighting the critical danger of falls from height during routine maintenance and operational tasks on cargo hold hatch covers inclusive of:

1. Access point signage warning

2. Visual boundary lines and fall risk indicators

• Begun developing a campaign aimed to:

1. Enhance the process of fall from height hazard identification

2. Increase awareness of risks of working at height

3. Enhanced training on using fall protection equipment

The Bahamas Maritime Authority has:

• Committed to conduct a concentrated inspection campaign aimed at addressing the hazards associated with falls from height across the Bahamas Fleet.

Source: safety4sea.com