Maritime NZ inspects stevedore operations for health and safety

Maritime New Zealand informed that it is working closely with stevedoring companies to improve safety practices in the log loading industry, following an intensive health and safety inspection campaign earlier this year.

As part of the campaign, Maritime NZ inspectors carried out 30 ship and head office inspections of five stevedore companies that load logs on to ships for export. These companies were proven to understand that their stevedores work in a high risk sector, and they are keen to tighten safety practices wherever improvements are identified, according to Harry Hawthorn, the General Manager of Compliance.

Mr Hawthorn says Maritime NZ decided an inspection of stevedore operations was warranted after having to investigate 24 incidents in 12 months related to load failures from cranes on foreign-flagged ships.   

    “The cranes on these overseas-owned ships are operated by New Zealand stevedores. Multiple hatches are loaded concurrently, with an excavator for each hatch operated also by a local stevedore – moving the logs into the final position. The ships’ crews then take over to lash the logs down prior to sailing.”

As a result of the campaign, Maritime NZ is assisting the sector to check the competency and inspection standards used by surveyors of ships’ cranes, and that internal training for crane operators is up to NZQA unit standard level, says Mr Hawthorn.

The second phase of the campaign also involves improving awareness about the need for safety systems between PCBUs (Persons Conducting a Business or Undertaking), he says, so there is a clear understanding between the ships’ crews and stevedoring companies about which safety system applies on each work site.

A further issue is that stevedores loading logs have been over-represented in ACC claims – especially in relation to musculoskeletal injuries, or repetitive strain injury.

Mr Hawthorn says good examples of managing this risk include rotating repetitive work activities, prohibiting manual hauling on heavy cables, taking regular breaks, and keeping hydrated.

The Stevedore Inspection Campaign is part of Maritime NZ’s inspection campaigns, conducted from time to time, to ensure compliance. These campaigns range from fact-finding missions to understand safety within particular sectors, to campaigns that target vessels that are at risk.