MAJOR

ACCIDENTS
PREVENTION
IN SEA PORTS

Dr. Mohammed Anati

Introduction
• Major accident is that accident which
has the potential for causing a very
serious incident which is likely to
affect people, both on site and off
site, and the environment.
•Why Major Accidents happened at Sea Ports?
• Ports are filled with workers, noise and
activities.
• Ships need to be loaded and unloaded quickly
to meet strict deadlines, and sometimes.
• Work at ports takes place throughout the day
and night and in all types of weather.
• There are often pressures to load or unload a
ship’s cargo quickly.
• Visiting drivers want to pick up or drop off
their cargo as quickly as possible.
Seaports Major Accidents Examples

Ship Accident type load year losses

Australian Ship Struct on a reef 1368 containers 2011 200 tons of heavy fuel oil
Rena 300 cargo containers
MSC Matilde Listing on a dock
OEL HIND Listed & rested on a pier 2020
Indonisian Shipyard Gas poisoning 2019 4 Killed

Ever Given drifted slowly in a pattern-less blocking the only channel for ships
pause to pass through, delay the delivery
of loads
Aqaba Leak of toxic chlorine gas 2022 13 killed, 260 injured
 Seaports Major Accidents Examples 2020
Date Name of container ship Shipowner Capacity in TEU Nature of the loss Consequences

4 January 2020 COSCO PACIFIC COSCO Shipping, China 10 062 Fire Several hundred containers
burned
14 April 2020 NYK Joanna ONE, Singapore 2 664 Pirate attack in Manila -

10 June 2020 RIO CHARLESTON Maersk, Denmark 4 300 Pirate attack near the -
port of Brass, Nigeria

22 April 2020 CMA CGM DALILA CMA CGM, France 8 465 Grounding near the -
port of Houston, USA
Collapse of container stacks
2 May 2020 OOCL United Kingdom OOCL, Hong Kong 21 413 Bad weather and loss of several others at
sea
Mediterranean Shipping, Collision with a quay The right side and the forward
4 June 2020 MSC Rosa M Switzerland 14 036 crane in the port of part of the vessel were
Mumbai, India severely damaged
4 June 2020 LAURA MAERSK Maersk, Denmark 4 258 Explosion and fire Damage to the engines and
injury of a sailor
11 September 2020 ONE COSMOS ONE, Singapore 8 100 Bad weather Collapse of container stacks

30 November 2020 ONE APUS ONE, Singapore 14 052 Bad weather Loss of 1 816 containers

2 December 2020 MUNICH MAERSK Maersk, Denmark 19 630 Undetermined Loss of more than 200
containers
 Reasons for Seaport Accidents
1. Long work hours and inadequate breaks.
2. Falling cargo and the dangers associated with operating heavy machinery.
3. Lifting Operations.
4. Falling from heights onto the dock into water.

5. Chemical spills, cargo shifts, explosions.

6. Inexperienced or inadequately trained crew members or dock workers.
7. Unsafe transport and hauling of dangerous cargo.
8. Inadequate inspections or maintenance.
9. Improperly secured cargo or overloading of cargo.
 Risk Assessment in Seaports
• Seaports are particularly exposed to extreme threats that can cause numerous
types of risks, which can be categorized into operational, environmental, or
natural, security, technical and organizational.

• Another important aspect related to the complexity of seaports is the fact that
these systems have a wide range of stakeholders
 Risk Assessment in Seaports

Legalization & public Academic & Community

Universities consultants, Environmental non-
Federal state & Local government
profit organizations
Internals
Economic non direct
Port authority, port
.Port customers
operators, shareholders,
,Trade companies managers, employees,
Importers/Exporters unions, board members

Economic Direct Economic non direct

Logistic services, supporting industries, Port customers. Trade companies,
Indusrial companies Importers/Exporters
 Hazard Management

hazard is a condition, characteristic or situation which exists and has the potential to
cause harm. In other words, it is the “potential” or “possibility” to cause damage to
individuals, environment and infrastructure.

Threats are situations that can trigger a hazardous source and raise the risk probability
in a system or infrastructure .

An event is an occurrence that has an associated causes and consequences. Events

depend on other conditions and therefore, comprise different potential outcomes
which vary in severity.

Accidents are unplanned and unintended events which can cause damage to people or
entities.
 Risk Assessment Phases
Hazard Hazard RIsk Risk
Identification Assessment Mitigation Monitoring

Threat source situations that can trigger a hazardous source and

Identification
raise the risk probability in a system or infrastructure.

Types: Physical, Economic, Social, Vulnerability

Process: Identifying, Evaluating, Treating, Reporting
Environmental Identification

Liklelihood
Identifivation

Impact
Analysis

Risk
Classifiation
Terms which can be used to evaluate probability of
accidents
Term Description
Negligible rare event, it does not need to be considered

Very low rare event, however, cannot be excluded

Low rare event but can occur
Medium event occurs on a regular basis
High event occurs often
Very high occurrence of event is certain
Risk Matrix
Severity/Probability Negligible Miner Moderate Serious Critical
Very Likely to occur Medium Medium High High High
Likely to occur Low Medium Medium High High
May occur about half
of the time Low Low Medium Medium High

Unlikely to occur Low Low Low Medium Medium

Very unlikely to occur Low Low Low Medium Medium

• The results provided by this matrix can be used to compare risks and
identify suitable mitigation measures.
• In a qualitative approach, risks are usually categorized into “high”,
“medium” and “low”, and are represented in a risk matrix.
 Color Code for Risk Matrix
Color Discerption • A quantitative approach the threats
sources need to be identified as well as
Yellow Safe or risk potential event scenarios.
(Low) acceptable • The evaluation relies on numerical
values which are assigned to the
Orange May be unsafe or probability of damage, harm, or loss.
(Mediu risk needs to be • The result will indicate likelihood of
m) reduced risk and can be ranked using a
numerical scale; for instance, from 0
Red Unsafe or risk to 1, where 1 demonstrates the highest
(High) unacceptable risk probability.
Risk Analysis

Hazard Resources

Natural Man-Made
Process due to
Occurring process international or
in the environment Un-international action
Categorization of hazard sources and examples
Type of hazard Hazard Source category Examples of hazard Sources
Source
Natural Hydrological Floods
Geophysical Earthquake, tsunami
Metrological Extreme wind, snowstorm
Man-made Operational Loading/unloading activities
Movement of containers, usage of
cranes/carriers
Reversing vehicles
Storage and transportation of
dangerous goods
Lifting, carrying or maneuvering
activities
Container dimensions or weight
(excessive)
Dredging activities
 Hazard Resources (cont’d)
Examples of hazard Sources Category Types of Hazard
• Type of hazard Source Resources
• Hazard Source category
Spills/leakage of materials Safety Man Made
• Examples of hazard Sources
Working on heights or dock edges
Unguarded machinery or cargo
Electrical installations (malfunctions)
Unknown traffic of illegal goods
Unauthorized access to online databases

Complex automated systems Technical

Failure of digital navigation or IT systems
 Hazard Resources (cont’d)
Examples of hazard Sources Category Types of Hazard
Resources
Improper hierarchical/unclear organizational Man-Made
organization
Excessive workload
Lack of know-how, training,
communication
Incompatible goals among employees
Poor management procedures
Use of corrosive chemicals, oil spills Environmental
Transportation of toxic materials
 Risk factor Cause
Factors Climate Geologic/seismic
Hydrologic
of Risks Operational
Atmospheric
Port equipment/machinery failures
Vessel accident/grounding
Cargo spillage
Human related errors
Safety Sabotage
Terrorist/cyber attack
Surveillance system failures
Arson
Technical Technical Lack of equipment maintenance
Lack of aids for navigation
Lack of IT system maintenance
Organizational Organizational structure
Human resources (ethics, behaviour)
Regulatory changes or delays in contract
Environmental Pollution
Foreign species
Socio-economic and Social and political systems
political Economic status, changes in industry/market
Customer and market characteristics (change)
 Examples of Seaports Accidents
Equipment Causes of Accidents
Cranes  Employer/employee failure to comply
with federal regulations and safety
standards.
 Inadequate numbers of employees.
 Inexperienced or improperly trained
workers.
 Unsafe working conditions during
inclement weather.
 Overly heavy or improperly balanced
containers or cargo loads.
Malfunctioning or defective equipment
Injury Types
 Burns
 Back and neck injuries
 Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), mild
to severe.
 Broken/fractured bones
 Severed or crushed limbs
 Spinal cord injuries, including
nerve damage and paralysis
 Disc injuries: slipped, ruptured,
herniated, or bulging
 Disfiguring lacerations.
 Examples of Seaports Accidents

Equipment Causes of Injury Types

Accidents
Dock Worker & Same as above.  Drowning
Longshoremen  Hypothermia
Injuries  Disease, respiratory problems
 TBI, mild to severe
 Fractured or broken bones
 Amputated or crushed limbs
 Severe burns
 Spinal cord damage or paralysis
 Slipped, ruptured, herniated, or bulging
discs
 Disfiguring lacerations
 Examples of Seaports Accidents
Equipment Causes of Accidents Injury Types
Severe burns, due to fires or explosions. Fires or explosions. Offloading Facility
Amputated or crushed limbs. Falling heavy objects. Injuries
Spinal cord or nerve damage, especially Equipment accidents
after falls or crush accidents. involving forklifts, trucks,
Broken bones. or other dockside
Mild, moderate, or severe traumatic equipment.
brain injury.
Back and neck injuries.
Disfiguring lacerations
 Avoiding Seaports Accidents
• Implement Traffic Management Protocols to Protect Pedestrians
• Effective traffic management in ports helps mitigate the risk and reduce
transport hazards.

a. When possible, pedestrians should be kept separate from traffic areas. Segregating pedestrians
and traffic as much as possible significantly reduces risk without the need for major operational
changes.

b,. If pedestrians and vehicles cannot be separated completely, traffic control measures should be
implemented and enforced. Road signs, lighting and marked surfaces improve visibility while
ensuring that workers know where they need to be. Speed limits should also be implemented and
enforced to reduce risk.

c. Proper training, monitoring and site inductions are vital to ensure that everyone working at the
port is fully aware of risk areas, safe routes and potential site hazards.
 Avoiding Seaports Accidents
2. Install Mirrors to Improve Visibility
• Poor visibility leads to numerous accidents at ports. It is often difficult for drivers of
trucks or heavy machinery to see workers on the ground, and this lack of visibility
can result in potentially deadly accidents.
a. They should be installed on large vehicles and in areas with blind spots. Convex
segmented, wide-angle convex and panoramic mirrors can also be used to improve
visibility at ports.
b. Mirrors are a low-cost way to eliminate blind spots and make it easier for drivers
to see areas that may be nearly impossible to see from the driver’s seat. The only
downside, however, is that convex mirrors create distortion. While they make it
easier to see if someone is in your blind spot, they may prevent you from being able
to tell exactly where they are.
 3. Reduce Risks from Lifting Operations
Avoiding Seaports • During the loading and unloading process, a wide
Accidents range of lifting equipment–including slewing cranes,
gantry cranes, forklifts–is used to move cargo.
Loading and unloading is extremely dangerous, and
accidents can occur as the result of equipment failure,
falling loads, etc.

a. Use equipment that is suitable for lifting a

particular type of cargo.
b. Lifting equipment should be rated to handle the
load, and it should be well-maintained to avoid
equipment failure.

a. Workers must be properly trained prior to operating any type of lifting equipment.
b. A competent person must also be involved in planning the lift to ensure safety and efficiency.
c. Freight should never be lifted over people who are working or passing through.
 4. Prevent Falls from Height
Avoiding Seaports • Working near water often results in wet, slippery surfaces, and
Accidents there is the added risk of drowning if a worker falls. Access to
and from ships via gangways and ladders, container-top
working and certain maintenance procedures all pose
significant risks.
a. conduct a risk assessment. Choose equipment that is
suitable for the type of work that must be conducted and
use it properly. Make use of safety equipment like
harnesses, air bags and fall arrest systems to minimize the
risk of serious injury or death if a worker falls.

b. When working at height near water, workers should wear

a lifejacket or another suitable buoyancy aid. Suitable
lifesaving equipment should be kept on dock premises.
Things like handholds on the quayside at water level should
also be installed to allow workers to get back on land after
falling in the water.