Real Life Incident: Crew Member Goes Overboard While Working on Deck, Loses Life

A vessel was underway in good weather. Two deck crew had been directed to paint the underside of the external stairway landings at bridge deck level. They were working from the boat deck and had been instructed to use a telescopic rod connected to a roller brush to reach the area to be painted several metres above. After starting the task, one of the crew decided to install a portable A-frame ladder (stepladder) to assist in the job. Using an A-frame ladder without a permit to work was contrary to the company SMS, but the other member of the painting party did not dispute this action.

Some time later, the vessel changed course