A failure to account for poor weather conditions led to the death of a worker on an oil field support vessel off the north-west Australian coast last year.
Andrew Kelly was working on the deck of the Skandi Pacific when two large waves came over the anchor handler’s stern and shifted an unsecured container, which trapped and killed him.
The vessel, operated by DOF Management, had been taking on cargo containers from the Atwood Osprey rig but was forced to move away when sea conditions became too rough.
Mr Kelly, who was from Newcastle in New South Wales and was married with four children, was working to secure the containers when the accident happened.
The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) said the Skandi Pacific’s safety procedures for working on deck in poor weather were “inadequate with no clearly defined weather limits”.
The ATSB said the vessel’s managers had since put measures in place to avoid a similar accident taking place, with updated procedures for working in adverse weather and cargo loading.
Mons Aase – chief executive of DOF Group, the operator’s Norwegian parent company – said the firm had worked closely with the ATSB on the investigation and had “taken note” of the observations made in the report.
Mr Aase said: “Andrew Kelly and his family are never out of our thoughts; his loss is felt keenly.
“DOF Group is a responsible and transparent organisation our belief is that no-one should lose their life at work so we have taken every step to ensure a situation like this is never repeated on any vessel, worldwide.
“Our highest priority is the safety of our people and we continue to work with industry, industry bodies and government agencies to ensure the highest standard of safety management and systems.”