§ Mr. Prescottasked the Secretary of State for Trade how many seafarers employed on United Kingdom registered ships died as a result of falling from aloft for each year since 1975; what were their ages and category of employment; what incidence of death per 100,000 at risk they represented; and what investigations and actions the Government have taken to reduce such accidents.
§ Mr. EyreThe number of deaths recorded by the registrar of shipping and seamen resulting from falls from aloft on board merchant ships registered in the United Kingdom were:
No. Estimated number of Seamen at risk ('000s) Incidence per 100,000 1975 7 108 6.5 1976 4 103 3.9 1977 — 95 — 1978 3 88 3.4 1979 4 82 4.9 Statistics for 1980 are not yet available.
The ages and categories of the seafarers concerned are not at present separately recorded, but will be when the accident reporting system mentioned below comes into force.
The occupational safety of seafarers at work was comprehensively studied by the steering committee on the safety of merchant seamen at work which the Department of Trade convened and which reported in 1978.
The committee did not comment specifically upon falls from aloft, but some of its work and several of its recommendations applied to accidents of that type.
The committee produced the "Code of Safe Working Practices for Seamen", which is now statutorily required to be carried on all United Kingdom merchant ships and to be easily accessible to the crew. It includes a chapter on working aloft and outboard. Similarly the booklet "Personal Safety on Ships", which is issued free of charge to individual seafarers, also includes a section on the subject.
The Department is introducing several sets of regulations on the advice of the committee, three of which will be relevant to this type of accident. First, proposed regulations for protective clothing and equipment will require provision and use of safety harness and lifelines for all work aloft. Secondly, regulations will require the appointment of accident prevention officers on board and provision for the election of safety officers. Thirdly, accident reporting regulations will require all accidents involving three days or more incapacity to be reported. Falls from aloft are separately distinguished on the proposed accident report form.