Ship officer's leg crushed in unsafe crane operation

A ship's officer lost part of his leg when it was crushed due to the unsafe operation of an on-board crane, a report has said.

The man was airlifted to hospital from the survey and supply vessel Kommandor Orca at Portland Port, Dorset, on 16 August 2022.

His leg became trapped in the crane track, which he was not operating in line with the manufacturer's instructions, the Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) said.

The ship's crew had adopted an unsafe way of using the crane controls for convenience, the MAIB concluded.

The man's orange overalls were caught in the rack and pinion track that the deck crane moved along, the report said.

The Filipino officer held onto the crane controls for balance, unintentionally causing the mechanism to speed up, it added.

A colleague heard his cries for help and found him lying on his back with his left leg trapped.

He was freed and taken by helicopter to hospital where his leg was amputated below the knee.

The MAIB report said the crew was in the habit of using an emergency crane control panel because of a fault and other issues with the recommended controls.

It concluded: "Kommandor Orca’s 2/O (second officer) was following his training when he operated the crane’s local controls from the exposed position at height and without safeguards.

"The crane was not designed to be operated from the local position other than in an emergency and so no personnel platform, guardrails or machinery guards were fitted."

The vessel's owner, Hays Ships, based in Portlethen near Aberdeen, said the "upsetting incident" was the first of its kind for the company in 20 years.

In a statement it said: "Robust corrective and long-term preventive actions were implemented without delay."

You can follow BBC Dorset on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram.