Health and Safety
Executive / Commission
Press releases
YH/372/08 17 July 2008
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is warning companies to put in place proper safety precautions and procedures for vehicle safety in dockside loading and unloading areas, following the death of a Russian seaman on a Goole quayside.
Transatlantic UK Limited of Aire Street, Goole pleaded guilty and was fined a total of £10,000 and ordered to pay costs of £7,442.40 at Goole Magistrates' Court. The prosecution follows an incident on 2 October 2006 at Aldam Terminal, Goole Docks, Goole, which resulted in the death of a 33 year old Russian seaman.
As Chief Mate responsible for overseeing the loading of his vessel, the MV Odin, the seaman was walking along the nearby quayside when he was struck and fatally injured by the vehicle (a 'reach stacker') which was being used to lift containers on board.
HSE Inspector Kirsty Welsh said:
"This tragic incident could have been avoided had the company shown forethought and applied some basic planning to their dockside operations.
"Workplace vehicles need to be well-designed, maintained and fully equipped with safety devices - as in this instance they were - but this is not enough if thought has not been given to the environment in which they operate. Employers must look carefully at the hazards and risks in their workplace and take steps to eliminate or reduce them.
"In this case the system of radio communication had failed which meant that workers were repeatedly putting themselves at risk by disembarking to check the even distribution of the vessel's cargo. Added to this there were no agreed working procedures for moving vehicles around the terminal, something which creates an obvious risk in busy, noisy dockside conditions where the movements of vehicles and pedestrians need to be clearly segregated."
Transatlantic UK Ltd were charged with breaching Section3 (1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974.
1. Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 states:
It shall be the duty of every employer to conduct his undertaking in such a way as to ensure, so far as was reasonably practicable, that persons not in his employment who might be affected thereby were not thereby exposed to risks to their health or safety.
Issued on behalf of the HSE by COI Yorkshire and the Humber. For more information please contact Anne Haynes on TEL: 0113 341 3172 anne.haynes@coi.gsi.gov.uk