One Link: What the Death of Denver Teleron on Honeybourne III Says About 'Satisfactory'

One Link

At 2347 on 6 October 2023, Honeybourne III was fishing for scallops 16 nautical miles south of Newhaven when the port dredging gear, hauled up against its safety chains toward the raised derrick head, fell without warning. Deckhand Denver Teleron, 35, was walking along the port conveyor belt having just secured the aft safety chain to the dredge beam. The 155kg towing block struck him on the head. He was declared deceased at 0125 the following morning.

The chain in the port quick-release assembly — renewed just 13 months earlier, and passing its own manufacture test certificate — had fractured. Engineers commissioned by the MAIB found two mechanisms working together: the chain's material hardness was measured at roughly 400 Hv10, above the 370 Hv threshold at which hydrogen embrittlement becomes a serious risk of instantaneous brittle fracture; and the chain ran over a static 168mm steel pin at the derrick head, a 5.25:1 diameter ratio that the chain supplier confirmed reduces working load limit even on new chain, through two-point bending the standard WLL certificate never tests for.

A Design Nobody Questioned

Chain-over-static-pin was the universal arrangement on scallop dredgers. Macduff Shellfish believed it was a regulatory requirement. It isn't — it's a design choice, and an unsafe one. Thirteen months earlier, an almost identical chain failure had happened on Isla S, another vessel in the same fleet. Nobody was hurt. The company's internal investigation attributed it to "an unidentified hairline crack," issued guidance on inspection frequency, and moved on. The incident was never reported to the MAIB. The arrangement itself was never reviewed as a design risk.

What "Satisfactory" Actually Meant

The skipper, designated the vessel's competent person for lifting equipment inspections under LOLER, checked the chain monthly and consistently recorded it as satisfactory. He had no training in EN 818-6 wear limits, chain loading, or hydrogen embrittlement — he was appointed by position, not by assessed competence. The lifting plan required checking for "excessive wear" but defined no numerical limit. Post-accident inspection found wear on some links exceeding EN 818-6 limits. There was nothing on board to measure against, and nobody equipped to interpret what they were looking at even if there had been.

A Deck That Made the Rule Impossible to Follow

Honeybourne III's SMS required crew to stay clear of suspended loads during hauling. In practice, the deck layout made this impossible — there was no route down from the conveyors that didn't pass under the towing block once the derrick was raised to the buffers. PFDs and safety helmets were stowed in the whaleback, meaning crew crossed the open working deck without them to reach their own protective equipment. Denver Teleron was wearing a privately purchased ski helmet, not rated for falling objects and missing its chinstrap — though the investigation noted the energy of the falling block would very likely have overwhelmed even a compliant helmet.

Recommended Actions

MAIB Report 1/2026 made two recommendations to the Maritime and Coastguard Agency:

1. 2026/101 — Use the improvement and prohibition notice powers under sections 261 and 262 of the Merchant Shipping Act 1995 to reduce the substantial risk presented by a chain led over a static pin as the sole means of supporting a suspended load
2. 2026/102 — Update instructions for surveyors to verify that the actions in MCA Safety Bulletin 20 have actually been completed

Macduff Shellfish had already, by the time the report was published: started replacing chain-over-static-pin arrangements fleet-wide; introduced quarterly lifting equipment inspections by company superintendents; amended the SMS so all winch operations stop until crew are clear of a designated safe zone; mandated EN 397 helmets only; and moved PPE stowage so it can be donned before crew step onto the working deck.