Inspection Detail

Inspection: 1521661.015 - Tri-State Maritime Services, Inc.

Inspection Information - Office: Mobile Area Office

Investigation Summary

At 9:23 a.m. on Thursday, March 18, 2021, an employee was working as a stevedore for a marine cargo handling firm. He was working on the docks at a marine terminal. A cargo ship at the dock, the M/V Taurus, was equipped with several cranes. A quadrennial cargo load test was required every four years following initial certification for each crane. The cranes were past their scheduled inspection date, as two extensions had been granted. The employer was allowing its crane operators to operate the cranes anyway. In this incident, the operators were using the cranes to carry spools or rolls of stainless steel. The employee was retrieving lumber to block the stainless steel spools. A cable on a crane broke, and a roll of stainless steel fell. It rolled over the employee's left foot. The employee suffered a partial amputation to his left foot. He was hospitalized. A preliminary account said that the employee's left leg was crushed. There was no further corroboration of that. Designated persons had not visually inspected each crane and derrick on each day of use for defects in functional operating components.

Keywords: Amputated, Amputation, Broken Cable, Cable, Competent Person, Crane, Crushed, Dock, Dock Worker, Equipment Approval, Equipment Failure, Falling Object, Foot, Inadequate Maint, Inspection, Instantaneous amputation, Leg, Longshoring, Material Handling, Mech Mat Handling, Ship, Struck By, Traumatic Amputation, Unstable Load