Emergency Contact Case Study: Unseen Danger – Unguarded Conveyor Drum and Communication Lapse Lead to Serious Injury Home Latest updates News Case Study: Unseen Danger – Unguarded Conveyor Drum and Communication Lapse Lead to Serious Injury 24 Nov 2025 Download the Case Study Sign up for alerts The Incident Whilst undertaking fishing operations, a conveyor belt carrying frozen fish became blocked after several boxes were placed unevenly on the belt, causing one to jam against the side and the others to pile up. The belt was stopped by the crew to assist in clearing the obstruction. Once the blockage was cleared, the crew returned to their respective workstations, in the processing area, in order to resume operating the conveyor line. The 2 nd Engineer, who was not involved in the processing work but happened to be walking past the conveyor belt, noticed some pieces of rope stuck on the conveyor drum. Noting the conveyer belt to be stopped, he attempted to clear the pieces of rope by hand. As the conveyor drum was unguarded, the 2 nd Engineer was able to reach into the exposed moving parts, a space that should have been physically protected. At that moment, unaware of the presence of the 2 nd Engineer, the conveyor was restarted by one of the processing crew. This resulted in the arm of the 2 nd Engineer being drawn into the unguarded drum, resulting in a traumatic amputation of his left forearm. The vessel diverted to the nearest port where the 2 nd Engineer underwent emergency surgery ashore. Whilst the 2 nd Engineer’s life was saved, the incident resulted in the permanent loss of his arm. Observations The absence of guarding on the conveyor drum created a major safety hazard. Although daily technical status reports to the office were in place, no crew had previously raised this hazard. It appears the exposed drum had become a routine sight on board and was therefore not recognised as a risk, reflecting a degree of normalisation of deviance regarding this unsafe co