November 2023: Net roller / Cod end serious injury on commercial fishing vessel
This maritime update is for
New Zealand commercial fishing vessels.
Background
On the morning of 23 July 2022, a crew member working on a commercial fishing vessel suffered a severely broken leg after being hit by the cod end of a mid‑water trawl net.
During fleeting, a process where lengths of fishing net are brought sequentially on board using port and starboard Gilson winches (bull wires), the Gilson hook used to hook into the hauling strops became caught on the mid‑water cod end that was stowed on the midship net roller. Instead of the net being spread evenly across the roller, it had bunched up on one side. The deckhand went to remove the Gilson hook from the bunched net.
The deckhand freed the Gilson hook after the officer on watch on the bridge saw that it had become snagged and used the remote control for the net roller to rotate it. The midship net roller would not normally rotate during this part of the operation.
The first mate did not communicate their intention to rotate the net roller to the deckhand or to the other crew on deck. The roller rotation caused the cod end of the net to swing around at speed, striking the deckhand. The sudden and violent impact broke his lower leg bone.
The deckhand was airlifted off the vessel and required surgery on his leg.
Gilson hook
Gilson winch (bull wire)
Investigation
The investigation found that the mid‑water trawl net sometimes wound unevenly onto the midship roller, causing the net to bunch when stored. When this occurred, the Gilson hook could become caught on exposed sections of net that were not in use while being stowed on the midship net roller.
When the crew were completing a fleet, tension on the port‑side Gilson winch was taken up, allowing the opposite‑side Gilson hook to drop down over the midship net roller and become caught on the stowed mid‑water cod end. To deal with this, the crew developed a workaround: remotely rotating the net roller from the bridge to allow a deckhand to access the caught Gilson hook in preparation for the next fleet.
When interviewed, the fishing company stated that they were not aware of the ongoing issue with the Gilson hook catching on the midship roller. Because of this, the master had not added the issue to the vessel’s hazard register, and the company was not aware that the crew were using an alternative method of operation that introduced extra risk.
The company confirmed that they held regular health and safety meetings with their crews after each trip, but this issue had never been raised.
Issues identified during the investigation included:
- use of a workaround to manage a safety issue instead of raising it as a health and safety hazard
- lack of awareness by the person conducting a business or undertaking (PCBU) that the crew were using a workaround when the Gilson hook became caught on exposed net
- midship net not evenly spread or covered
- lack of communication between crew about the unexpected operation of the midship net roller
- limited visibility for the first mate operating the remote control from the bridge
- deckhand receiving insufficient training and supervision to undertake their duties safely
- existing onboard safe operating procedures not capturing hazards associated with working close to the midship net roller.
Actions taken to address the incident included:
- recognising that the PCBU, in this case the commercial fishing company, had not been told by the crew about the ongoing issue with the Gilson hook catching on the net
- introducing a new procedure to store the midship roller with the net evenly spread and covered with a tarpaulin, to reduce the risk of the Gilson hook catching
- installing CCTV cameras to provide fuller visibility of the operational area for the officer on the bridge, eliminating blind spots caused by the midship net roller
- reviewing safe operating procedures and identifying and mitigating hazards associated with working close to net rollers.
Safety reminder
PCBUs must, so far as is reasonably practicable:
- provide all workers with appropriate information, training, instruction, or supervision to help protect them from risks to their health and safety resulting from their work
- make sure there are clear communication processes for all workers when plant and equipment are operating outside normal operations
- hold regular health and safety debriefs with workers to record and monitor hazards at work that could put workers’ health and safety at risk
- maintain a detailed hazard register and report any safety issues to management rather than using workarounds
- ensure plant and equipment, such as nets, are stored and operated in line with safe systems of work.
Contact us
If you have any questions about this safety update, please contact Maritime NZ