Abstract: Employee #1 was moving a barge downriver in order to position it so that a crane could continue to unload pig iron from inside the barge. The barge was moved by means of a "barge puller" or winch assembly. This consisted of a singe 0.75-in.-wire cable, the two ends of which ran over a series of pulleys or sheaves at either end of the dock. The upriver end of the cable then passed through a motor system or winch, which ultimately provided the power which would allow the cable to move up or down the river. In order to move the barge, Employee #1 secured the eye of a nylon rope to the "quarter bit" or back quarter of the barge, ran the other end through an oblong ring, and then ran it back and also secured that end to the quarter bit. While standing on the ledge of the dock which was elevated above the barge, Employee #1 used a pendant controller with a long electric cord to move the cable on the winch which, in turn, moved the nylon rope attached to the ring and then the barge. While moving the barge, the nylon rope broke which released the tension from the cable ring, allowing the cable to fly upward in the direction of where Employee #1 was standing. The motion of the cable either struck Employee #1 or caused him to fall from the ledge into the water.