ERNEST BEVIN

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U.K. Ferry Company Fined Over Deckhand's Death

The company which ran the Woolwich free ferry where a man died while working on board in August 2011, has been found guilty of failing to ensure the health and safety of its crew. On October 21, Serco Limited was fined £200,000 ($300,000) after being found guilty after a trial lasting eight days at the Inner London Court. Benjamin James Woollacott, a deckhand who had been working on board the Woolwich Free Ferry, Ernest Bevin, sustained severe head injuries and drowned when he was dragged overboard by a mooring rope while releasing lines that were securing the ship to a mooring buoy. Early on the morning of August 3, 2011, the Ernest Bevin was moored on the buoys at Woolwich and was due to be used to start the service that morning. The crew was taken out to the vessel by a launch and preparations made to bring the ferry into service. More at http://www.maritime-executive.com/article/uk-ferry-company-fined-over-deckhands-death