Crushing incident in the trawl room – lessons learned
A fisherman escaped unscathed when his foot got caught between the end rope and the anchor during a routine operation. He was about to throw out an end of a fishing line but placed his foot in the wrong spot.
Course of events
The incident took place in what is called the trawl room on board. It is a closed room with a hatch on the starboard side, where the line is hauled in and ends are set out or taken in. In the worst case, the person could have suffered crushing injuries or fallen overboard.
The foot placement caused the fisherman to be pressed against the trawl hatch and held against the edge between the rope and the railing.
Another fisherman, who was in the same room (as there is always two people during such operations), reacted quickly. He grabbed the person who was trapped and cut the rope with a knife. The person was then freed, and the end was secured.
The mate immediately notified tha master and acted to the best of his ability by manoeuvring the boat forward at low speed to relieve the tension on the the end, keeping watch until the master arrived.
The master was in the wheelhoulde within 30 seconds of the incident and quickly got an overview as the mate clearly explained the course of events. All operations on board were stopped until the master had conducted investigations and talked to the crew.
Cause and possible measures
This incident could have had a tragic outcome if the person had been alone in the trawl room. The cause was inattention during a relatively critical operation that the crew had good routines and training for. The person involved was familiar with both the operation and the equipment.
The trawl room is undoubtedly a dangerous workplace, and measures should be considered to make it less hazardous to work there, especially regarding the design of the trawl hatch.
It should be possible to set up barriers that prevent falling out while not making it difficult to set out and haul in lines and ends.
A bleeding knife should always be available in the trawl room, which fortunately was the case in this instance. It was this knife that was used to free the person who was trapped.