Stakeholders call for strict adherence to safety guidelines
The Maritime industry has this week recorded two gruesome accidents on board two vessels within 48hours which claimed the lives of six seafarers and left one battling for his life, marine time news
Information at our disposal reveals that the first incident took place on Monday, July 6, on board Mt Matrix Pride during a mooring operation offshore Escravos.
The second incident, we gathered occurred on Tuesday, July 7 during the installation of gangway on the production platform at Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) Koko, Warri, claiming five lives.
Our sources said the Mt Matrix Pride was on an STS (Ship to Ship) with a sister vessel MT Triumph when the accident occurred.
TNMN learnt that the Steward, who was trying to get promotion to an Ordinary Seaman (OS), decided to help on deck to familiarise himself with the job of an OS.
Following the accident, the steward died before arriving the hospital while the OS who lost his leg battles for survival.
Reacting to a gory video of incident, which was made available to Maritime TV, a Marine Engineer and seafarer, Daniel Ikueyemi who described the incident as painful stressed the need for seafarers to keep to the rules to guiding the profession to avoid casualties.
He emphasised the need for the maritime administration to assist by ensuring that seafarers get practical experiences as this supersedes the theoretical knowledge gained at school.
Ikueyemi lamented the demise of the steward who had no business mooring adding that the video in circulation showed that “the snap back zones were not properly identified” on the vessel.
He stressed that seafarers should patiently learn the process and grow on the job adding that going by the video, there was poor radio communication on board the vessel.
“The guys on the deck when the tension was noticed ought to have notified bridge and asked the team to stand clear.
“The rule of never stay anywhere near a tensioned rope /wire was not complied with, the mooring master also did not follow standard mooring /unmooring practices”, he stated.
Mr Kaizer Precious, a safety analyst who is also a seafarer said the sad incidents recorded are spill over effect of the prolonged stay at sea by seafarers adding that fatigue could only result in poor decision-making and coordination.
His words;
Crewmembers were not allowed to go disembark from vessels because of the lockdown. Many stayed longer than their normal sign-on time and this isn’t always good. If the crew is exhausted, his mind is off the job at that point, he is home sick and this becomes a safety risk.
He also tasked safety officers on enforcement of precautionary standards.
The Director General, Nigerian Maritime Administration & Safety Agency (NIMASA ) has conveyed his condolences to the family of the seafarer and his loved ones, disclosing that the Agency had begun investigation.