Report on fatal crash at Mona Manx released

Occurred during anchoring operations in Chile

An accident investigation report concluded that the chief officer of an Isle of Man-registered bulk carrier was fatally injured ‘by being struck in the head by a mooring rope which was snagged and then released under tension and retracted vertically without warning’.

The incident happened Mona in Manx It is the morning of August 26, 2021.

The vessel is owned by Mona Marine Ltd and operated by MX Bulk Management Ltd. was a 35,606 gross tonnage bulk carrier registered Isle of Man operated by.

Built in 2017, the ship trades worldwide, carrying a variety of solid bulk cargoes.

It now sails under the Hong Kong flag and has been renamed Amoy Dream.

Edwin Vargas was fatally injured as a result of being ‘struck by a returning mooring rope while the ship was docking in the Chilean port of Puerto Ventanas’.

The 36-year-old Filipino citizen first joined the ship’s crew on December 16, 2020.

The investigation revealed that the mooring rope ‘had become wedged between the ship and the dock, probably around a fender, then suddenly released while the ship was making a stern maneuver under its own power’.

As a result, Mr Vargas was ‘standing in the danger zone when the taut mooring rope was released’.

At 8:36 a.m., as a lineman on the dock advanced toward the taut spring line, a loud bang was heard as the rope suddenly released and retracted vertically upwards.

The report states that the spring rope struck Mr. Vargas under the chin and “caused him to be knocked off his feet and thrown backwards, causing his head to strike the accommodation ladder located behind and above him.”

‘The force of the impact threw his helmet backwards and his VHF radio was thrown into the water as it crashed onto the deck.’

Despite ‘rapid emergency attention’, severe trauma to Mr Vargas’ head and spinal cord meant he died at the scene.

The investigation into the ‘very serious maritime accident’ was undertaken by the Marine Accident Investigation Branch on behalf of the Isle of Man Ship Registry.

It was carried out remotely ‘as simultaneous access to the ship and port was not possible due to Covid-19 travel restrictions’.

Remote investigation caused ‘difficulties and delays’ in ‘obtaining evidence from the accident scene’.

As a result of the investigation, Mona Manx’s management company, Union Marine Management Services Pte. Ltd has taken action to increase crew awareness of the guidance provided in the Code of Safe Working Practices for Merchant Seafarers and has reviewed the requirements for safety briefings prior to arrival in port.

In addition, the Maritime and Coastguard Agency amended the Safe Working Practices Rule for Merchant Mariners to include guidance highlighting the potential vertical component of a retracting mooring line and the risks associated with mooring line entrapment.

Puerto Ventanas SA, operator of the port of Puerto Ventanas, conducted a series of toolbox interviews with shore personnel detailing the safety lessons to be learned from this accident.

Recommendations have also been made to Puerto Ventanas SA and the Port Authority of Quintero to provide clear instructions to captains and pilots regarding the use of engines alongside them and to ensure that the risks associated with mooring rope entrapment are taken into account and included in the captain/pilot exchange.

You can find the full Marine Accidents Investigation Branch report here. HERE.