{"id":2637,"date":"2018-09-25T15:16:31","date_gmt":"2018-09-25T20:16:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.blueoceana.com\/?p=2637"},"modified":"2018-09-26T19:30:23","modified_gmt":"2018-09-27T00:30:23","slug":"when-heads-up-really-means-heads-down","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blueoceana.com\/?p=2637","title":{"rendered":"When \u201cHeads Up!\u201d Really Means \u201cHeads Down!"},"content":{"rendered":"

About a week ago at the Fraser Surrey Docks in Vancouver, British Columbia, the container vessel SM MUMBAI\u00a0<\/strong>(see photo below) was being discharged and, consistent with normal operating procedures, semi-automatic twistlocks were being released in preparation for a container crane\u2019s cycles to take cargo to the shore. In the particular case of one particular twistlock, we understand that it was at a 5th\u00a0high tier and that a worker at or near the other end of the actuator pole; at deck level, was a seasoned, \u201cA\u201d list longshore worker with 35 years of experience under his belt.<\/p>\n

Something went terribly very wrong, however. During that container\u2019s discharge, a twistlock became unshipped from the container\u2019s bottom corner fitting and began its quick drop down. A worker below spotted the twistlock coming away from the container, and reflexively shouted to all within earshot \u201cHeads Up!.\u201d<\/p>\n

That \u201cA\u201d List worker did in fact quickly look up, and within seconds was smacked directly in the face with the interbox connector. Given its weight and the length of its fall, the impact was nothing short of tremendous\u2026. And devastating.<\/p>\n

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Today, that longshoreman lies in a local hospital bed\u2026 the subject of an induced coma while physicians plan the next course of interventional action and the rest of us pray for the best possible outcome.<\/p>\n

We know that most (but not all) semi-automatic twistlocks once released from below will function as they\u2019re designed. In sum, they\u2019ll release from the bottom stow and stay attached to the top container. Once the crane lowers the container to the shoreside apron, workers there will turn the locks, remove them from the containers\u2019 bottom apertures and place them in the provided receptacle.<\/p>\n

In some cases, however, like this one, something unexpected happens\u2026 and once the top container is lifted the twistlock separates from the hoisted container\u2019s bottom corner fitting anything can happen. Where that separation occurs is a matter of some conjecture; dependent upon a litany of factors. Moreover, why that separation occurs is also dependent upon another litany of factors. Generally, the latter\u2019s factors are a function of maintenance (either of the semiautomatic twistlock or, alternatively, that of the container). Both, from the writer\u2019s perspective, deserve a great deal more attention than they\u2019re presently getting by the relevant parties.<\/p>\n

Also, it must be recognized that working directly below a stack; in close proximity to a live container crane\u2019s maneuvers, is not a very wise thing to do. And finally\u2026. why can\u2019t we get workers closer to the twistlocks they\u2019re attempting to release?<\/p>\n

Please\u2026.Learn and Live from this experience!<\/p>\n

Update: \u00a026 September 2018 [7:00 PM EST]<\/strong> \u00a0We’ve been contacted by a close friend of the longshore worker who was injured in this accident, who relates that some of the facts set out above require amendment: To begin with, he’s an “A Board Casual” with 8 years of experience; not a 35 year veteran. Next, just before the accident he was walking across one of the vessel’s catwalks with an actuator pole in hand to work on a different twistlock that was stuck. The twistlock in the container being lifted at that bay simply fell out during the hoist and struck him directly on the forehead. We also understand that he is no longer in a coma, but is rather heavily sedated and awaiting what will likely be a series of surgical procedures in order to restore the many broken facial bones he sustained. We’re very glad that he will be a survivor, and wish Dan all good things going forward!<\/p>\n

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Vessel Schedule For C\/V SN MUMBAI: \u00a0SM Line : Vessel Schedule SM MUMBAI<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

C\/V SN MUMBAI (Ex UASC SHUWAIKH)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2640,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2637","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blueoceana_blog"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blueoceana.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2637","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blueoceana.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blueoceana.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blueoceana.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blueoceana.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2637"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/blueoceana.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2637\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2646,"href":"https:\/\/blueoceana.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2637\/revisions\/2646"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blueoceana.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2640"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blueoceana.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2637"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blueoceana.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2637"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blueoceana.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2637"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}