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A seaman on a cargo ship was killed during berthing operations in bad weather.
In his written Determination following a Fatal Accident Inquiry the Sheriff listed the reasonable precautions whereby the accident might have been avoided. These included:-
The Harbour Authority should produce formal towage guidelines and operational limits for tugs.
Such guidelines should include procedures for communicating between Port Control, the pilot, the tugs and the ship;
The Harbour Authority should review the practice of using ships'
lines as towing hawsers using the principles in the Port Marine Safety Code;
The Harbour Authority should identify all risks associated with marine operations that are not
"As Low As Reasonably Practical" (ALARP) and accelerate the process to draft procedures within their Safety
Management System to initiate control measures to reduce the risks to ALARP as required by the Port Marine Safety Code;
The Harbour Authority should ensure that there are clear operational procedures and lines of command
in extreme weather and that the Harbour Master should consider at what point he might wish to direct vessels not to
enter because of extreme weather;
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