The deckhand walked forward to the bow to speak to him, but as he approached realised that his colleague had suffered serious head injuries when the bow visor was lowered. No tools were in the vicinity, and the safety chain fitted between the car deck and the working area was lying on the deck. The postmortem examination indicated that in addition to head injuries caused by the visor the engineer had some cardiac enlargement, a recognised cause of collapse and sudden death. A safety bulletin was issued with respect to operational procedures and the installation of alarms and emergency stops with regard to the operation of the bow visor. A recommendation is addressed to the Shetland Islands Council to introduce guidelines and procedures, including training, into its safety management system for the operation of bow visors throughout its fleet.
Installed emergency stops in a position local to the bow visor.
Issued a memo to all masters on 6 September 2000 regarding operating the bow visor, and instructing masters to develop appropriate operational procedures. Some vessels in the Shetland Islands Council fleet are awaiting the next refit and dry docking period before the alarms and stops are fitted. The actions since taken by Shetland Islands Council will contribute towards preventing a similar accident in the future. This document, containing Safety Recommendations, has been produced for marine safety purposes only on the basis of information available to date. A report will be published.