Correspondence Received – Painting over the side – Who needs Safety Culture?

Painting over the side –Who needs safety culture?

The following is a brief description of a scene that I witnessed whilst alongside in a small Mediterranean port. There was a small coastal ferry moored directly astern of us which is used to connect the port with a nearby island.  On her starboard (outboard) side, I could clearly see a crew member working over the side in an unsafe manner. He was dangerously leaning over a metal embarkation ladder and was not wearing any kind of personal protective equipment apart from safety shoes. This picture was taken at the time. There was also what looked like an officer supervising the job from the deck… demonstrating a complete lack of safety culture!

Painting over the side – lack of safety precautions

CHIRP Comment

CHIRP sees many things wrong in the picture. As a “smoke oh” exercise, or perhaps at a Safety Committee Meeting, or even just for fun, why not examine the picture to see how many hazards you can spot. You may well be inclined to check that all of your own onboard procedures are robust in terms of planning, risk assessment, toolbox talks and execution of the job itself.

CHIRP would welcome any pictures that may be suitable for a “Spot the Hazards” and/or learning exercise for use in future editions of Maritime Feedback.

Report Ends…………………