The accident happened on board a cargo vessel, and air ambulance had to be called.
Course of events:
The conveyor belt was not started remotely from the navigational bridge, and there was no unloading since the ship was undertaking a normal transit voyage.
The able seafarer informed the captain that he planned to conduct a routine check, which included inspecting the unloading arrangement in the tunnel.
During the check, the able seafarer noticed slack in the conveyor belt and adjusted it.
While testing the belt, he saw some dirt near the front driving shaft and removed it with a cloth.
As he did this, he noticed more dirt in the tunnel and reched further in to clean it. His clothing likely got caught in the belt/roll, pulling his hand in.
The able seafarer used a UHF radio to report his injury.
First aid was administered immediately, and emergency services were called. The injured person was transported to hospital by helicopter.
The captain noted that the crew typically does not work on rotating equipment on board. The crew must be made aware of this to prevent an incident like this from happening again.
Preventive measures:
It is not permitted to enter the unloading tunnel without informing the navigational bridge personnel.
During work operations, two persons need to be present and emergency stop activated.
Another incident:
In a similar incident on a fishing vessel, an individual's left hand middle and ring fingers were crushed when a glove got caught under the conveyor belt. The fingers were crushed under a strut in the conveyor frame.
The injured person managed to free himself after a few seconds, but experienced severe pain and swelling. He was treated with cooling, bandaging and painkillers and sent to an urgent treatment centre. The fingers were severely sprained, resulting in sick leave.
Causes:
The glove became caught in the belt/conveyor during high-pressure cleaning, crushing the fingers.
The work was carried out using a short lance attached to the pressure washer, bringing the person's hands close to the conveyor.
Preventive measures:
An audit of checklists and familiarisation lists in the safety management system will be conducted to implement measures preventing such incidents in the future.