Avoid fall accidents – take control

The Norwegian Maritime Authority has defined fall accidents as its key focus area for 2023.

Over the last five years, up to and including 2022, there have been 14 fatalities related to falls. These include falls on board, falls overboard and falls on the quay in connection with mooring or embarking. A total of 561 people have been injured in fall-related incidents, and 349 of these resulted in more than three days of sick leave.

Therefore, the Norwegian Maritime Authority (NMA) has designated fall accidents as our priority focus area throughout 2023.

In the past five years, 37% of all fatalities at sea have been fall‑related, and nearly 600 people have been injured.

Checklist

The NMA has developed a dedicated checklist for preventing fall accidents. Our surveyors use this checklist during certificate surveys as well as during unscheduled inspections.

It will be highly beneficial for all vessels to review this checklist. We encourage all shipping companies and masters to complete the review during 2023.

The checklist is also available in a digital format suitable for mobile devices. It is intended for use by shipping companies and masters, including for internal reporting.

Fill in our digital check list here

Challenge to companies and masters

Company:

Encourage (or require) masters to review the content on this webpage and complete the digital checklist. The checklist should be saved and, preferably, submitted and reported to the company.

Master:

Use a safety meeting or similar forum to go through the content on this webpage.
Read all "lessons learned" cases and watch the related videos. Discuss the topics internally, and perform a walk-through to identify areas and work operations with a risk of fall accidents
Discuss and identify any new or improved preventive measures based on the risks highlighted in the articles and videos.
Complete the digital checklist for fall accidents. This should be saved and submitted to the company. Please include comments or proposed measures for any checklist items where risks were identified or improvements are needed.

Although the NMA cannot link the completed checklists to individual vessels, we will continually review the input to identify relevant learning points or potential safety improvements for our ongoing work.

Accident statistics for fall incidents

Lessons learned – the Multi Vision accident

One of the most recent fatal accidents occurred on 1 January 2022. The investigation of the so-called Multi Vision accident, in which a young able seafarer lost his life, has now been completed by the Norwegian Safety Investigation Authority. You can watch the investigation video or read the full report here.

The Norwegian Maritime Authority regularly publishes "lessons learned" from marine incidents and accidents:

Falling / tripping in stairs / ladders – lessons learned
23 March 2022
One of the most frequent personal injuries on board passenger-ships, are often falling or tripping while using stairs or ladders. Very little or no use of handrails at all, is in most cases the reason why people fall.
Falls into open hatches – lessons learned
04 January 2022
An incident was reported recently of a person falling down a ladder that was not safely and properly closed. The hatch had not been checked by the crew before the work started, and the person was beaten badly.
Entering vessels at quay without gangway/ladder – lessons learned
01 November 2021
Sadly, accidents in connection with entering vessels are very common occurrences, for instance when crew members or others are embarking or disembarking. It can be tempting to jump from the vessel to the quay, but this can often lead to broken bones or injuries all over the body.
Safe and proper use of ladders, stairways and floors – lessons learned
04 November 2021
Accidents and near-accidents on board vessels are often caused by falls from ladders, falls down stairways or falls on floors.
Fall over bord – lessons learned
04 May 2015
Sadly, incidents where crew members fall overboard from fishing vessels are common, as is seen from the accident statistics.
Fell through open hatch – lessons learned
18 January 2013
The Norwegian Maritime Authority (NMA) regularly shares incidents where there is something useful to learn. This incident is about a captain who fell through an open hatch on the bridge.