The Marine Safety Forum has published a safety alert regarding an incident in which a person was hit by mud/clay during anchor handling operations.
The incident
Specifically, the person was injured when a 50 kg lump of mud/clay rolled onto his back as he was checking the identification number of a shackle. The injured person was a marine representative. The anchor was secured on deck and tension was off but the anchor had not been disconnected and moved to the stowage area. Most of the mud/clay had fallen off during the recovery but some mud/clay was still attached to the anchor.
Findings
It has been noted that the injured person did not see the hazard and as he was leaning down the mud/clay rolled off and hit him over his back. He fell and sprained his ankle and suffered pain in his back as the result of the incident.
Recommendations
It’s everyone’s responsibility stop unsafe acts and to ensure all crew on deck are operating in a safe manner. As seen in this incident equipment arriving on deck must be clear of mud/clay before persons stand directly under as the mud/clay can be heavy even in small amounts.
Further details may be found in the safety alert below
Source: Marine Safety Forum