Crew Member Dies During Mooring Operation

In order to attach the aft towline, the ship’s messenger line was lowered through the aft centerline Panama fairlead to the tug. The mate of the tug received the line and tied it to the tug’s messenger line, which was attached, in turn, to the steel tow wire. The aft mooring team on the cargo vessel took up the slack in the messenger lines and attempted to heave up the tow wire by hand. The tug’s mate realized what the cargo vessel’s crew were trying to do and indicated to them, by shouting and using hand […]