Marine Terminal Worker Victim of CHE Backover [Lisbon, Portugal – 03 March 2021]

Posted by admin on Mar 5, 2021 in Bulletins

With great sadness, Blueoceana Company has been informed by friends at Lisbon port, Portugal, that a marine terminal worker there became the victim of a fatal accident earlier this week near container stacks at a multi-purpose terminal at that port.

We are told that João Alcácer (See photo below) and another colleague were assisting the operator of a large piece of container handling equipment (we surmise a top loader) in locating a container that was to be loaded aboard M/V BREMER ELENA (See also photo below).

In that process, the container-handling industrial truck had a need to operate within an obstacle course-like environment rich with piles of sand (cargo for/from other ships coming to the multi-purpose facility).

After assisting the operator, the two pedestrian workers backed away from the container pile but were caught by the machine which was moving in reverse. One of the workers was able to cling to the machine’s counterweight and survived. João Alcácer was not as fortunate. 

We mourn for him, his family and his friends, and remind all marine terminal workers at all ports that being a pedestrian anywhere near these large pieces of container handling equipment is an exercise filled with great danger.