Unsafe method of rope work resulted in severe hand injury
- Safety Flash
- Published on 18 October 2016
- Generated on 22 February 2026
- IMCA SF 28/16
- 1 minute read
The Marine Safety Forum (MSF) has published safety alert number 16-22 regarding an incident in which a crewman suffered serious injuries to three of his fingers during mooring operations.
What happened?
The incident occurred when the crew of the vessel were preparing mooring lines for arrival in port. An Able Seaman was spooling a mooring line from the starboard locker to the starboard tugger winch aft. During this operation, a crow bar slipped and the seaman was forced against the guide roller. He caught his fingers between the crow bar and roller, leading to injuries to three of his fingers, including loss of one joint of a finger.
Side view showing spooling direction of mooring line
Front view showing mooring line travel to the winch and the crow bar position
The MSF safety alert records the following:
- Immediate cause: an unsafe method for spooling line onto the tugger winch.
- Basic causal factors included:
- poor planning: there was no risk assessment conducted before the job, nor was a toolbox talk meeting held
- the seaman performing the work was new on board the vessel.
Members may also wish to refer to Mooring practice safety guidance for offshore vessels when alongside in ports and harbours.
Related Safety Flashes
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IMCA SF 04/09
2 April 2009
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