A cargo-handling company has been fined €15,000 for breaches of health and safety regulations on the same day a crew member died in an incident on a ship docked in Dublin Port.
Able Seaman Dennis Gomez Regana, who was from the Philippines, died when a 20ft steel container fell on him on November 14th, 2018.
Marine Terminals Ltd (MTL) pleaded guilty to failing to ensure that individuals at the place of work (not its employees) were not exposed to risks to their safety, health and welfare in that there were fragmented verbal and radio communications between personnel on the vessel, on the quayside and in the crane.
Frank Kerins, safety inspector at the Health and Safety Authority, told Dublin Circuit Criminal Court that the case was not being made that the above breach led to Mr Regana’s death.
He testified that he was notified of a death on board a large ship at Marine Terminals at Southbank Road, Dublin Port, that morning.
Mr Kerins spoke to members of the 13-strong crew, one of whom had a broken container twist lock. This was a small metal component used to hold containers to the ship deck and to each other.
The incident happened at Bay 25 on the starboard side of the ship. It’s understood that, prior to the accident, there were four empty containers stacked on top of each other in that area, with four semi-automatic twist locks used to hold them together.
The incident happened when a large ship-to-shore crane began to lift the containers off the vessel, and the bottom one detached from the one above it. It fell away and wedged at Bay 25.
Mr Regana noticed that there was a twist lock missing, and he tried to rectify it. He climbed up a nine-foot column at that bay and had a twist lock with him. The container fell upon him.
The judge asked Mr Kerins why this part was missing.
“You couldn’t get semi-automatics in there because it was beside the wall,” he answered.
“Surely the person who put that in there must have known that,” suggested the judge.
Mr Kerins agreed.
“There is a rule that only one container should be lifted at a time,” he added.
He also explained that the defendant’s function was to unload the cargo.
However, he said that there was fragmented verbal and radio communications between the crew and the port workers in the vessel, on the quay side and on the crane.
He said that the crane operator had been told “Lift now” by others.
The judge was informed that the deceased was in his 40s and read a short victim impact statement. He was told that the maximum fine was €3 million.
Under cross-examination by the defence, Mr Kerins said a missing deck lock would have been a big problem on open sea, and that it had been left to Mr Regana to come up with a solution. He went to the vessel boss on the quay side and asked him whether he would move the containers.
Mr Kerins explained that the training in place in MTL was that only one container should be moved at a time.
“There was a breakdown in communications. He thought they were going to open the twist lock so he would only lift one,” he said of the crane operator.
He agreed that there had been full co-operation from MTL, who had a good health and safety record. The company had actually appointed someone to improve communications between the crew and the dock. He accepted that it was an aberration on the part of MTL.
“It seems there was a question as to what was said. This is not good where people are working in a potentially dangerous situation,” Judge Nolan said.
However, he noted that there had been a guilty plea, the company had a good record, and it was unlikely it would happen again.
He imposed a fine of €15,000 and gave MTL six months to pay.
- Sign up for the Business Today newsletter and get the latest business news and commentary in your inbox every weekday morning
- Opt in to Business push alerts and have the best news, analysis and comment delivered directly to your phone
- Join The Irish Times on WhatsApp and stay up to date
- Our Inside Business podcast is published weekly – Find the latest episode here
