Inspection Detail

Inspection: 303080857 - Stevedores, Inc.

Inspection Information - Office: Baton Rouge Area Office

Investigation Summary

Some time after 3:00 p.m. on May 6, 2000, Employee #1 and coworkers returned from lunch to resume unloading 1,450 lb aluminum T-blocks from the #7 hatch of the M/V Angela onto an adjacent barge in the Mississippi River. They were using the ship's aft crane and 1 in. wire rope and chain rigging, the ends of the which were connected to a spreader bar and then to the crane's hook. The T-blocks were stacked in two rows, three high and three deep. The workers had started the day lifting 12 T-block loads, but later changed to18-block loads. When they made this change, the bottom center block on the first two lifts slipped out of the rigging. After that, however, the rest of the morning went smoothly and they did not experience any more problems. After lunch, the dunnage from the morning was removed from the hold prior to the first lift, and six loads were set up. There were no problems with the first two lifts, but on the third, as the crane was booming up and swinging toward the barge, one of the bottom center T-blocks slipped out from the rigging. At the same time, Employee #1 had moved his forklift into a position perpendicular to the T-blocks. He was directly under the load when a T-block fell approximately 57 ft and went through the roll cage of the forklift. Employee #1 sustained crushing injuries and was killed. On May 5, 2000, it was apparently reported to the ship's crew that the aft crane was not working properly. The operator would have to boom down before booming up and then lock up, causing the boom to jump. They also experienced the pick-up hoist locking up, which caused it to jump. This was occurring on most of the lifts, but Employee #1 and coworkers had to continue using the crane because they needed to unload the ship as soon as possible. On the day of the accident, the crane operator said all the lifts experienced the jumps except the one from which the T-block fell. It is possible that the crane actually did jump, but that the operator did not realize it when he saw the T-block falling; alternately, the crane did not jump but the operator overcompensated because he was expecting it to do so.

Keywords: LONGSHORING, RIGGING, UNSECURED, WORK RULES, SUSPENDED LOAD, OFF LOADING, STRUCK BY, SLING, FALLING OBJECT, MECH MALFUNCTION