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Report: Poor communication caused death of Chief Mate

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) has censured the operators of two vessels involved in a fatal crew transfer accident off Brisbane for failing to ensure the crew had complete understanding of the evolution before carrying it out. In July 2021, the 'Formosabulk Clement', now sailing as 'Gaia I', had departed Taiwan, bound for Newcastle to load a cargo of coal. The COVID-19 pandemic was still in full swing, and the ship’s trade route for the last six months had provided no opportunities for crew change. 14 of the 25 seafarers on board had been on the ship for longer than the Maritime Labor Convention maximum of 11 months. At the time, the crew change rules varied between different states in Australia, and Queensland offered the best opportunities. To take advantage of this opening, the bulker’s manager, Formosa Plastics Marine Corporation (FPMC), arranged with its local shipping agents in Australia to set up a crew transfer off Brisbane. The arrangements would involve the ship calling at the port's anchorage to rendezvous with a harbor boat. 11 crewmembers were set to join the ship, and 15 were leaving. The vessel anchored about six miles east of Point Cartwright in the morning of Aug 9, 2021. The launch service provider, Pacific Tug, notified the ship that it would need to make two trips with its crew transfer vessel, the launch 'PT Transporter'. The weather and surface conditions were relatively rough at the open-water anchorage, rough enough that some of the oncoming crew members got sick during the ride out to the ship. The bulker yawed about its anchor between a range of headings throughout the day, sometimes leaving the starboard side transfer station exposed to wind and waves. The ship' used the main engine and the rudder to change the heading and create a lee each time the transfer vessel came alongside. The chief mate was to depart from the bulk carrier after supervising a series of crew transfers. At 6.30 p.m., after a break for the transfer launch, the operation for the chief mate to depart the bulk carrier started. The launch skipper called the master on the radio to request a lee. Language barriers prevented a good mutual understanding of the plan, and instead of waiting for the bulk carrier's master to change heading, the launch skipper maneuvered in to make a trial pass at the boarding area and assess the conditions. Unbeknownst to the launch skipper, who believed that the pass at the transfer area was just a dry run, the departing chief mate began climbing down the pilot ladder as the launch approached. At 6.38 p.m. a large wave rolled in and lifted the launch upwards, trapping the chief mate between the boat and the ship's hull. When the wave subsided, the chief mate fell into the sea. His lifevest inflated and kept him afloat, and the crew of the 'PT Transporter' quickly retrieved him. He was unconscious, and the crew administered CPR as the launch headed back in to shore to deliver him for medical care. He did not recover and was pronounced dead shortly after arrival at the pier. Soon after the accident, the Australian Maritime Safety Administration ordered the 'Formosabulk Clement' to be detained for deficient boarding arrangements, forcing the rest of the crew change operations to take place by helicopter. The vessel was held for four days, then allowed to continue on its voyage to Newcastle. The ATSB concluded that both the bulk carrier and the transfer launch operator had failed to communicate a clear plan and ensure mutual understanding. Neither operator had formulated a sufficiently detailed and clear procedure for communicating during transfers. The International Transport Workers' Federation took a different view. If quarantine rules had allowed a crew change at the intended destination in New South Wales, there would have been no need for the risk of a pilot-ladder transfer off Queensland.

Crew member fell from fallreep and died

A sign-off crew member of tve 'Formosabulk Clement' died on Aug 10, 2021, while disembarking from the ship into a boat, to be taken ashore. The man fell from pilot ladder and was caught between the hulls of boat and bulk carrier. The ship had to turn to Queensland to perform the crew change in the Mooloolaba area, being en route to Brisbane. As of Aug 11, the ship remained Moore off Brisbane, being detained by AMSA for investigation.