A JURY yesterday recommended that the Dublin Port Authority should have full jurisdiction over ships leaving port and endorsed a number of recommendations made by the Marine Casualty Investigation Unit following the death of a Polish national.
Patrycjucz Zawadowicz (31) of Kosmanavtow, Poznan, was working as second officer aboard the Norfolk Line Dublin Vikingon the night of August 7th, 2007, when the stern line snapped as the vessel was about to leave Dublin Port, fatally injuring him, an inquest at Dublin City Coroner's Court heard yesterday.
Minutes earlier Mr Zawadowicz gave an instruction for the stern line on the roll-on, roll-off ferry to be slackened.
However, crew member Rafal Zyskowski, who was simultaneously operating two winches at the time of the incident (one to raise and lower the ramp of the ferry and the other to loosen the rope) pushed the lever in the wrong direction, causing the line to tighten and snap.
Mr Zawadowicz was found by his colleagues lying on the deck in a massive pool of blood.
The ferry, which was bound for Liverpool, was under the management of Meridian Marine Management Ltd at the time.
Following its investigation into the incident, the Marine Casualty Investigation Unit detected 18 safety issues.
These included the deterioration of the stern mooring line which had resulted in its minimum braking load being reduced to approximately 50 per cent of its original strength.
One factor which directly contributed to the incident was the absence of an indication, either on the winch marking or in the manufacturer's manual, that the starting load could be much greater than the stated nominal load, the investigation found.