Health and Safety

Executive
HealthandSafety
Executive
Freeing jammed freight containers and container
fittings on ships
HSE information sheet
Thisinformationsheetisoneofaseriespreparedby
theTransportationSectionofHSEsServices,
TransportationandSafetyUnit.
Introduction
Oneofthemostimportantdevelopmentsinthe
transportofcargobyseahasbeentheintroductionof
thefreightcontainer.Whiletheuseoffreight
containershasmanyadvantages,someproblemsare
associatedwiththeiruse,particularlyinconnection
withsecuringthemonships.
Inmostcasestwistlocks,sometimesreferredtoas
conlocks,areusedtosecurecontainerstotheship
andtothecontainersimmediatelyaboveorbelow
them.Twistlocksorotherfittingshavebeenknownto
jaminthelockedpositionandcontainerstojamincell
guides.Unlessthesesituationsareproperlymanaged
theycanleadtoserious,evenfatalaccidents.
Twistlocks
Therearemanydifferentdesignsoftwistlock.Over20
designsofmanuallyoperatedtwistlockareknownto
beinuse,togetherwithatleast26designsofsemi-
automatictwistlock.Semi-automatictwistlockslock
automaticallywhentheyenteracornercastingor
deckfittingbuthavetobereleasedmanually.Theyare
sometimesjustreferredtoasautomatictwistlocks.
Twistlocksareusuallythepropertyoftheshipanditis
possiblethatportsmayfindthemselveshavingto
workwithtypesoftwistlockwithwhichtheyare
unfamiliar.Moreproblemsarelikelytooccurwith
semi-automatictwistlocks.
Itisrecommendedthatportsobtaininformationfrom
shippinglinesoragentsonthemethodsofoperation
ofsemi-automatictwistlocksbeforeaparticulartype
hastobeusedforthefirsttime.Theinformation
shouldincludenotonlythenormalmethodofusebut
alsomethodsoffreeingthemiftheyjam.Thiscan
involvetheuseofsimple,special-purposehandtools
ordeviceswhichmaybecarriedbyshipsormade
( ) DocksInformationSheetNo1 Revised
locally.Someofthesedevicesmaybescrew
operated.Usetheinformationtodeveloptrouble-
shootingguidanceforthosewhoarelikelytobe
involved.
Liaisonwiththeappropriatedeckofficeroftheshipon
arrivalisalsorecommendedtofindoutifanyproblems
havebeenexperiencedwiththetwistlocksinother
portsand,ifso,howtheyhavebeenovercome.The
shipmayalreadycarrydevicesforuseinsuch
circumstances.Informationondealingwithjammed
twistlocksorcontainersshouldbeincludedinthe
shipscargomanual.
Problemsmayalsooccurwhenroguetwistlocksofa
differentdesign,particularlythosewhichlockinthe
oppositedirection,areincludedinthestack.These
maybeunknowinglyleftintheIockedpositionfor
dischargeandsoleadtothemjamming.Such
twistlocksmayhavebeeninadvertentlyusedduring
loadingatanotherterminal,particularlyifacageused
totaketwistlocksupontocontainerscarriedan
assortmentoftwistlocks.Thesemayhavecomefrom
othershipsbeingworkedatthetimeormayhave
beenleftbehindattheterminalbypreviousships.
Basicrequirements
Anysafemethodofworktofreeajammedcontainer,
twistlockorothercontainer-securingdeviceshould
includethefollowingbasicelements:
theoperationshouldbecontrolledbyasingle
identifiablepersonindirectradiocontactwiththe
cranedriver;
safemeansofaccessshouldbeprovidedtothe
locationofthejam;
thepeopleactuallycarryingouttheoperation
shouldworkfromasafelocationwheretheyare
unlikelytobestruckbythemovementofthe
container,egifitisreleasedsuddenlyorswings
afterrelease;
everyonenotinvolvedintheoperationiskeptata
safedistanceawayfromit.
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HealthandSafety
Executive
Thesystemofworkwillnecessarilybeparticulartoan
individualportorterminal.However,considerthe
followingmatterswhendrawingitup.
Communication
Thepersoninchargeoftheloadingorunloading
operation(thesupervisor)shouldbeinformedofany
significantproblemwithacontainerorcontainer-
securingdeviceassoonaspracticable.
Onbeinginformedofaproblem,thesupervisorshould
immediatelyadvisetherelevantcranedriver(preferably
byradio)thatthereisaproblemandthatanyfurther
cranemovementsinthevicinityofthecontainermay
bemadeonlyunderthedirectinstructionofthe
supervisororothernamedpersonuntilfurthernotice.
Thecranedrivershouldconfirmthattheinstruction
hasbeenreceivedandunderstood.
Thesupervisorshouldensurethatallpersonnelinthe
vicinityaretoldthereisaproblemwiththeparticular
containerorfitting.
Thesupervisorshouldensurethattheappropriate
shipsofficerisinformedofanyseriousproblemand
liaiseasnecessary.
Identificationoftheproblem
Beforeapproachingthearea,thesupervisorshould
ensurethateveryoneinthevicinityisinasafe
position.
Ifaspreaderislockedontothecontainer,the
supervisor(orpreviouslynamedperson)should
instructthecranedrivertolandthecontainerbackon
thedeckorthecontainerbelowandreleaseany
tensioninthehoistsystem.Thespreadershouldthen
beunlockedfromthecontainerbutmaybeleftin
placeonit.
Excessiveslackropeshouldbeavoided.However,if
thecontainerisjammedincellguides,particularlyif
thisoccursnearthetopoftheguidesduringloading,
noslackshouldbeallowedinthehoistsystem.You
needtomakesurethatexcessivetensiondoesnot
buildupinthehoistsystemduetomovementofthe
ship(seebelow).
Thesupervisorshouldexaminetheproblemareaor
areasbeforeanyattemptsaremadetodealwith
them.Someofthemostcommonproblemsare:
twistlocksinsertedincorrectly,upsidedownor
backtofront;
roguetwistlocksofadifferentdesignoperatingin
adifferentmanner;
faultyordamagedtwistlocks;
thelockingoflessthanfoursemi-automatic
twistlocks,thismightbeduetomisalignmentof
adjustabledeckfittingsordistortionofacontainer;
unlockingofsemi-automatictwistlocksdueto
cranespreadervibration.
Ifthesupervisordecidesthatitisnecessarytousethe
cranetotaketheweightofthecontainersothatthe
problemcanbeexaminedfurther,theexamination
shouldbemadefromasafeposition.Youshouldalso
ensurethatallotherpersonnelcontinuetokeepwell
clearofthecontaineruntilthetensioninthehoist
systemisreleasedanditisestablishedthatthe
containerisinastableconditionagain.
Remedialaction
Oncethenecessaryactionhasbeendecidedthe
supervisorshouldgiveclearinstructionstoeveryonein
thevicinityontheactiontobetakentoremedythe
problem.Theseshouldincludeensuringthatthereis
safemeansofaccesstotheworksite,thatthework
willbecarriedoutfromasafepositionandthat
anyonenotinvolvedremainswellclearofthe
operationatalltimes.
Theneedforsafeaccessandasafeplaceofworkwill
beparticularlyimportantifacontainerisjammedin
cellguidesorwherethejammedcontainerisabove
firsttierheightondeck,particularlyonsinglestacks.
Use of the crane
Ifitisdecidedthatitisnecessarytousethecraneto
attempttofreethejam,thehoistsystemshouldbeas
nearplumbaspracticable.Ifthejamisfreedwiththe
hoistsystemoutofplumbthecontainerorspreaderis
likelytoswingunexpectedlywhenitisreleased.This
mayalsooccurevenifthehoistsystemisplumbbut
oneorbothofthetwistlocksatonlyoneendofthe
containerarejammed.
Powershouldbeappliedtothehoistsystemforthe
minimumlengthoftimenecessarytotaketheweight
andfreelysupportthecontainer,typically1-2seconds.
Tensionshouldnotbeallowedtobuildupinthehoist
system.Wheneverpracticable,aftereachattemptto
releasethejamthecontainershouldbeloweredback
downandasmallloopofslackhoistwiregenerated
asproducedduringnormaloperation.Unlessafurther
attempttoreleasethejamistobemadestraightaway,
thespreadershouldbeunlockedfromthecontainer.
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HealthandSafety
Executive
Thesupervisorshouldbealerttothefactthattheship
isliabletomovewhileattemptstofreethejamare
underway.Suchmovementwhilethehoistsystemof
thecraneisundertensioncanbehighlydangerous
andresultinfailure.Themovementmaybegradualor
sudden.Thecausesofsuchmovementinclude:
tidalmovements,particularlyontheebb;
rangingoftheshipathermoorings,particularly
whenanothershippasses;
ballastingoftheship;
loadingordischargingoftheshipbyothercranes.
Smallships,suchasfeederships,areparticularly
vulnerabletosuddenmovementandonsuchshipsit
maybeadvisabletosuspendallmovementofcargo
untilthejamiscleared.Suddenmovementsmayalso
occuronlargershipswhenheavycontainersare
loadedordischargedatoutboardrows.
Ifatanytimetensioninthehoistsystemofacrane
cannotbereleased,forexampleowingtoacrane
malfunction,engineeringstaffshouldbecontacted
urgently bythefastestpracticablemeans.Failureto
dothisonafallingtidehasledtothecollapseofa
containercrane.
Itshouldberememberedthattwistlocksarenot
certifiedliftingplantandthattheymustneverbeused
assuch.
Use of hand tools and devices
Ifitisdecidedtousehandtoolsordevicestofreethe
jamthespreadershouldfirstberemovedfromthe
container,providingthiscanbedonesafely.Thecrane
drivershouldbeinstructedtoensureitremainsclear
ofthearea,unlessthespreadercradleistobeused
foraccess.
Ifsafeaccesstotheproblemareaisnotpracticable
fromthedeck,appropriateaccessequipmentshould
beused.Whenpositioningtheaccessequipmentand
usinghandtoolsordevicescareshouldbetakento
anticipateanymovementofacontainerorfittingwhen
thejamisreleased.Additionalsupportorrestraint
shouldbeusedwherenecessary.
Under no circumstances should an attempt be
made to free jammed twistlocks with hand tools
while a container is being supported by the crane.
Use of cutting or burning equipment
Asalastresortitmaybenecessarytousecuttingor
burningequipmenttofreeajam.Thisshouldbedone
onlybyagreementwiththeappropriateshipsofficer
andtakingthenormalprecautionsinconnectionwith
suchhotwork.Particularattentionshouldbepaidto
wherehotslagfromanycuttingoperationsislikelyto
landandtothepresenceofanyopentoppedor
dangerousgoodscontainersinthevicinity.Where
appropriate,apermittoworkfortheoperationshould
beissued.
Actionafterrelease
Oncethejamhasbeenreleasedandcontaineror
otherequipmentinvolvedhasbeenmovedtoasafe
place,thecranedrivermaybeinstructedbythe
supervisor(orothernamedperson)toreturntonormal
working.However,ifthejaminvolvedthecellguidesof
acontainership,furtheroperationsinthatcellshould
takeplaceonlybyagreementwiththeappropriate
shipsofficeraftertheguideshavebeenchecked.The
containerthathasbeenreleasedmaybedistortedand
shouldalsobechecked.
Anyotherequipmentinvolvedshouldalsobe
examinedtodeterminethecauseofthejam.Ifthejam
involvedthemalfunctioningofequipmentsuchas
semi-automatictwistlocks,itisrecommendedthatthe
suppliers,aswellastheappropriateshipsofficer,
shouldbeinformed.
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HealthandSafety
Executive
Furtherinformation
Additionaladviceandinformationmaybeobtained
fromyourlocalHSEoffice,viatheHSEInfoline,orby
emailtodocks@hse.gsi.gov.uk.
HSEDockswebpage:
www.hse.gov.uk/docks/index.htm.
HSEpricedandfreepublicationsareavailablebymail
orderfromHSEBooks,POBox1999,Sudbury,
SuffolkCO102WATel:01787881165Fax:01787
313995Website:www.hsebooks.co.uk(HSEpriced
publicationsarealsoavailablefrombookshopsand
freeleafletscanbedownloadedfromHSEswebsite:
www.hse.gov.uk.)
ForinformationabouthealthandsafetyringHSEs
InfolineTel:08453450055Fax:08454089566
Textphone:08454089577e-mail:
hse.infoline@natbrit.comorwritetoHSEInformation
Services,CaerphillyBusinessPark,CaerphillyCF833GG.
This leaflet contains notes on good practice which
are not compulsory but which you may find helpful
in considering what you need to do.
Thisinformationsheetcanbefoundat:
www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/dis1.pdf.
Crown copyright Thispublicationmaybefreely
reproduced,exceptforadvertising,endorsementor
commercialpurposes.Firstpublished10/08.Please
acknowledgethesourceasHSE.
PublishedbytheHealthandSafetyExecutive DIS1(rev1) 10/08 4of4pages