Quayside safety is “unsatisfactory”

Two people have died this year in connection with boarding or alighting ships.

The first accident was in June, and the second occurred last week.

Both incidents occurred at Tórshavn’s western quay.

Annfinnur í Garðalíð, the chairman of the Faroese Union of Shipmasters and Navigators, lost his brother in the June accident.

“Many ships do not have safety nets below their gangways, and that is simply dangerous. In my brother’s case there wasn’t even a gangway,” he says.

Not required by law

The Faroese Maritime Authority (Sjóvinnustýrið) has the overall responsibility for maritime safety, while ship captains are responsible for onboard safety.

The safety regulations for fishing vessels shorter than 45 metres do not specify that ships are required to use safety nets or even gangways.

The regulations state more generally that “Gangway conditions must be arranged in such a way that access to and from the ship is safe at all times”.

“Although the law does not require small ships to use safety nets, it is clear that such nets can save lives,” says Hans Johannes á Brúgv, the director of the Faroese Maritime Authority.

“We carry out regular inspections, but we do not have the capacity to inspect all ships. We have learned from the recent events, and we are urging all ship captains to tighten their safety measures, specifically with regards to gangways and safety nets.”

Read the Faroese version of this article here.

More Faroese News in English.