Near miss: Potential fall through CTV hatch

Whilst conducting routine crew transfer duties, a vessel was requested to return to a workboat it had just visited, as a passenger had forgotten his mobile telephone.

When the vessel got near the workboat, the passenger who had made the mistake rushed outside and climbed over the bulwark with one leg.  He thus put himself in a position where his leg could have been crushed as the two vessels came together.

The deckhand pulled the passenger to safety over the bulwark and onto the deck before the two vessels made contact, and thus the possibility of injury was averted.

• The passenger re-boarded the vessel without alerting, or seeking the permission of the vessel crew.
  
  
• The passenger was suffering the effects of seasickness and was possibly less aware of potential hazards.
  
  
• The chain on the pontoon between the vessel and the pontoon was not replaced following disembarkation of passengers and site representative boarding.
  
  
• There was no physical barrier for the open hatch – site personnel providing barrier/lookout.
  
  
• Due to short notice and early hour of the day for the crew change, the passengers had not received a site induction but were provided with a site ‘chaperone’ and should have received a vessel induction.