Question 1

In a reported gangway turntable incident (MAIB Safety Digest), an AB fell roughly 4.5 metres overboard through a gangway turntable opening after the ship's side gate was opened and the turntable lowered before the gangway was fully secured. What lesson did the MAIB draw regarding the existing risk assessment?

Accepted Answer

The risk assessment needed to be reviewed and updated when elements of the task changed (in this case, the sequence of opening the gate and lowering the turntable), since additional controls may need to be introduced when the task's conditions shift A written risk assessment is only valid for the specific sequence and conditions it was based on — when the task's sequence changes mid-operation, the existing controls may no longer match the actual hazard exposure, exactly reinforcing the dynamic risk assessment principle.

Question 2

In a documented gangway rigging fatality, what procedural gap was identified regarding how the rigging task was normally carried out by the crew?

Accepted Answer

The rigging of the handrail was understood by the crew to be a two-person evolution, but on the day the bosun proceeded with the task essentially alone after sending the deckhand away for life vests An informally understood 'two-person job' is not the same as a documented, enforced procedure — when the second person was sent away mid-task, there was no formal trigger requiring the work to pause until they returned, which connects directly to the lone-working and procedural-documentation gaps covered elsewhere in this module.

Question 3

According to MAIB Safety Digest reporting on pilot ladder deficiencies, what is a 'choke shackle' arrangement, and why is it dangerous?

Accepted Answer

A shackle secured over the ladder's side ropes rather than properly through the designed attachment point, which brings the entire weight of the ladder onto a single step that is not designed to bear that load One of the most common pilot ladder deficiencies identified by MAIB — it looks like a minor rigging shortcut, but it concentrates load on a structural element (a single step) never designed to carry the ladder's full weight, creating a failure point exactly where a pilot or crew member would be standing.