According to Seatrade Global, the boom of the 23-row ZPMC super-post-panamax crane snapped causing wreckage including the cabin to fall and smash into the hold of 6,674 teu Maersk Karachi below.
ITF (International Transport Workers’ Federation) president and chair of its dockers’ section, Paddy Crumlin, has expressed the organisation’s condolences over the death of a docker in Bremerhaven, Germany.
The 52 year-old crane operator was loading and unloading containers on Wednesday night when one of the structural members of his crane failed. The operator’s gondola then fell to the bottom of the ship’s hold.
Paddy Crumlin said: “Every death at work is one too many, and this one is particularly shocking. We send our condolences to the family, friends and colleagues of this unfortunate man, whom our colleagues in ver.di, his trade union, have confirmed was a skilled and highly experienced dockworker.
“We await the results of the investigation into how this horrible accident could have happened. It is the latest terrible reminder of the dangers of dock work and how none of us can ever relax on promoting and demanding safety in the workplace.”