Falls from above in maritime work: a nosological case study and hypothesis for prevention measures

Testo completo

(1)Falls from above in maritime work: a nosological case study and hypothesis for prevention measures. Navigation. Edition 2013.

(2) Published with the support of the Ministry of Labour and Social Policies by. INAIL Navigation Sector In collaboration with the Ministry of Infrastructures and Transports. ADMINISTRATION OFFICER Mr. Agatino Cariola - INAIL Central Direction Risks. HEAD OF RESEARCH Mr. Marco Starita - Technical Naval and Mechanical Firm Moroso Starita, Naples. AUTHORS Federica Cipolloni1, Francesco Correale2, Claudia Fabbro3, Teresa Filignano4, Giuseppe Gomisel3, Giorgio Guastella4, Ezio Iacovini5, Angelina Palopoli2, Silvana Pantalone4, Rosaria Pisanelli4, Silvia Salardi4, Fausta Savone5, Antonio Siciliano2, Maria Cristina Zuchi6 1 2 3 4 5 6. INAIL Statistical And Actuarial Advice Service INAIL Navigation Sector, Naples Office INAIL Navigation Sector, Trieste Office INAIL Navigation Sector, Rome Head Office INAIL Navigation Sector, Rome Head Office Ministry of Infrastructures and Transports, DG Maritime Transports. CONTACTS INAIL - General Direction Communication 00144 Rome - P.le Giulio Pastore, 6 e-mail: dccomunicazione@inail.it www.inail.it. © 2013 INAIL This publication is distributed on a free basis and cannot be sold. Any reproduction with any means is not allowed. Quotations from this work are allowed as long as the attribution of the source is clearly stated.. ISBN 978-88-7484-381-7. Printed by INAIL’s Typography - Milan, june 2014.

(3) Summary. Foreword. 5. Introduction. 7. Aim and objectives of this Research. 8. 1. Scope of the analysis. 8. 1.1. INAIL data. 1.2. The composition of the Italian Fleet according to the MIT data. 2. Regulatory framework of reference. 9 13. 20. 2.1. The sources of the regulations concerning safety and health of maritime work. 20. 2.2. A comparison between the Italian regulatory system concerning ship-specific safety and the Legislative Decree n. 81/2008. 21. 2.3. Risk evaluation and the regulations concerning the falls from height. 23. 2.4. An analysis of the legal framework with reference to the “Maritime Labour Convention” (MLC 2006). 30. 3. The economic impact of insurance costs 3.1. Incidence and costs of the “Falls from height and slipping on the same level”. 4. Statistical data on accidents aboard ships. 32 34. 36. 4.1. Identification of the type of accident and classification. 36. 4.2. The data of the INAIL NAVIGATION Sector 4.2.1 Foreword 4.2.2 The general overview of the injury occurrence in the maritime sector 4.2.3 Slipping and stumbling with fall of the victim. 37 37 38 49. 4.3. INAIL data in relation to small-scale fishing. 61. 4.4. Data from MIT - Analysis of the accidents at sea caused by falls from above and on the same level 2005-2011. 65.

(4) 4.4.1 4.4.2 4.4.3. 4.5. 4.6. Foreword Methodology Analysis outcomes 4.4.3.1 Distribution for type of naval unit 4.4.3.2 Distribution for nature and part of the body injured 4.4.3.3 Analysis of the work environment and worker occupation 4.4.3.4 Analysis of severe and very severe accidents. Recurrent cases 4.5.1 Stumbling on structures and fall on the same level 4.5.2 Slipping or stumbling on stairways and ladders and fall from height 4.5.3 Slip and fall on the same level on wet or oily floor 4.5.4 Fall overboard while acceding or descending from the ship 4.5.5 Fall overboard from small pleasure boat Analysis of the data harmonised with reference to real cases (appropriately made anonymous) 4.6.1 Fall in the engine room 4.6.2 Fall overboard 4.6.3 Fall in the galley 4.6.4 fall overboard on a pleasure craft. 5. Final analysis and proposals. 65 66 67 68 72 77 90 92 93 94 94 94 95 95 95 96 96 97 97. 5.1. An analysis of the most severe cases and recurrent ones with an identification of possible causes. 98. 5.2. A comparison between the trend of accidents recorded over the years and the effects of the entry into force of specific regulations. 99. 5.3. Some proposals aimed at reducing the accidents that are consequence of fall from above and on the same level also in the light of current laws at national and international level. 100. Annex. 110. The variables and their harmonization. 110. Legal references and bibliography. 116.

(5) Foreword. The Institution has embraced the functions of the former Welfare Institution for Maritime Sector (IPSEMA) and inherited its ongoing projects, such as the one that originated this publication; inflating these projects and the research with a new energy. This book proposes an interdisciplinary approach aimed to give a better assessment of the causes and consequences of fall, in particular from above, of which shipboard workers are often victims. This research has integrated the INAIL data with those from the Ministry of Transports; providing in this way a better standpoint on the injuries due to fall and allowing for a comparison of the statistical experience of the Institute with that of an institutional body that observes the same phenomena but from a different point of view and with a different purpose. The work consists of different chapters dealing with different aspects. First of all, a legal framework is defined in which the issue of health and safety of shipboard occupations, in general, and the issue of the fall from above, in particular, find their place. Secondly, the sector, the number and the features of the fleet and the people working in it are described. Thirdly, the data on shipboard accidents are deeply scrutinized, in particular their mode, severity and number of injuries aboard ships, also including some concrete examples of real accidents, drawn from the investigations carried out by Harbourmasters’ Offices. In the concluding part, the working group put forward some proposals in the light of the study elaborated, and some practical advices, suggestions and recommendations are offered with the purpose of improving work organization and reduce the accidents due to falls. 5.

(6)

(7) Introduction. This research concerns an injury-related phenomenon on which it is necessary to intervene in reason of, as we will show in the following chapters, the falls from height and those caused by slipping and sliding represent over the fifty per cent of accidents occurring on ships, with the consequence of raising the deriving costs both in terms of benefits paid out by the INAIL and by the National Healthcare Service as well as in terms of biological damage undergone by maritime workers. In particular, the Research benefited of the contribution of the personnel employed in the INAIL and the personnel within the General Direction for Maritime Transport and inland waterways of the Ministry of Infrastructures and Transport (MIT) which have extrapolated from their Databases, as we show in the following pages, the data related to the injuries that are consequence of falls from above and of sliding and slipping onboard ships and vessels. In this way, it was possible to identify the recurrent cases and those with more severe consequences and to go back, whenever possible, to the causes to propose suggestions to eliminate, or in any case reduce, injuries in such a complex environment as that of the ship. In fact, the ship is a work environment in which some potential hazards are present for the health and safety of embarked workers, both for its building-related elements and for operating and management issues. In first place, from a structural point of view, the ship is characterized by the presence of elements such as, for example, coamings, frames, floor plates, girders, etc. whose conformation is a direct cause of possible hazard of stumbling and/or bumping for people working on a ship. In regard to that, warning and signalling panels of obstacles and/or sudden changes of level are normally provided for in the guidelines on safety on the onboard workplace. From an operation point of view, the onboard personnel also use ladders with high slopes both for internal passageways between the decks, and externally to reach interlocking limits. In fact, in addition to regular walking the use of rope ladders is also needed for climbing and disembarkation from heavy lift derricks from masts on which normally repeaters of electronic and navigation equipments are positioned. Clearly, the use of such ladders, especially when major slopes are involved, entails a hazard for the worker. In relation to this, it is sufficient to imagine that a bulk ship may also have external ladders connecting decks with slope gradients comparable to high rise buildings. The danger of falling from above is even higher each time the ship is working in adverse weather conditions which may contribute to make the work environment more slipping and unstable. Work tasks in these cases are often carried out in conditions of poor visibility and strong wind. Moreover, the maritime worker may find himself to work in situations in which body reflexes and steadiness are reduced because he has just woken up or because he is overwhelmed by tiredness at the end of a working day. 7.

(8) Falls from above in maritime work: a nosological case study and hypothesis for prevention measures. In this general context, therefore, the statistics on injuries show that the case in question “falls from above”, added to the typologies of “falls from ladders” and “falls on the same level” (stressed by frequent cases of sliding and slipping) represent the majority of injury phenomenology in the maritime context.. Aim and objectives of this Research Taking into account what we have just described above, it appears of major importance to study and analyze in deep the causes of falls from above, so as to be able to identify any further devices aimed at implementing the conditions to improve safety and health protection of maritime workers and, therefore, limiting or reducing accidents, also by means of innovations concerning designing, building or maintenance techniques of ships, and put forward some proposals for a working organization which might be more sensitive to prevention and risk-management issues. All this should have the purpose of promoting a positive perception in the implementation of safety measures and protection of health at the workplace, so as to foster the diffusion among the people working in the maritime sector of a prevention culture which could be a reference point for those Countries that recently entered the European Union and those on the Mediterranean Sea.. 1.. Scope of the analysis. The sample of data used in this Research was drawn from the databases of, respectively, INAIL Navigation Sector, with data updated to June 2012, and the DG Seagoing and Shipping transports and Inland Waterways of the Ministry of Infrastructures and Transport (MIT) which, as we will show in the following paragraphs, feature some differences because they have been collected and classified in a different way. In fact, the INAIL data are recorded in relation to reports related to accidents undergone by insured maritime workers, while the MIT data regard the “accidents investigation forms” submitted by maritime Authorities according to the Article 26 of the Legislative Decree n. 271 of 27 July 1999. Sometimes, when the appropriate information from the above mentioned accident forms are lacking, other information deriving from the outcomes of the Summary and Formal Investigations carried out by Harbourmaster’s Offices were collected, according to the article 55 of the Decree of the President of the Republic 1164/1965 in case of accidents with consequences of work disability above 30 days that, in fewer cases, regard both the maritime workers and the passengers involved. With the purpose of making the statistical data from the two databases comparable, we proceeded to carry out the extrapolation, wherever possible, with the same classification, so as to allow for at least a qualitative analysis which evidences that the data are generally homogeneous. 8.

(9) Falls from above in maritime work: a nosological case study and hypothesis for prevention measures. Data from the MIT were useful to identify the number and consistency of ships forming the Italian Fleet, divided into types of Shipping.. 1.1 INAIL data The INAIL - Navigation Sector manages the statutory insurance against labour accidents and occupational diseases provided for in the D.P.R. n. 1124/1965 and subsequent modifications and integrations, for workers employed in maritime navigation and seawater fishing, without prejudice for the provisions of special laws. The Institute also provides for the collection, from the above mentioned workers and employees of navigation companies offices, of sickness and maternity contributions, according to the Article 1, last paragraph of Legislative Decree n. 663/1979 converted into Law n. 33/80, and pays out the relative economic benefits. For the crews employed in the civil aviation, the Institute only provides for the collection of maternity contributions. Moreover, for statutorily insured people, the INAIL - Navigation Sector provides for the insurance of supplementary benefits in case of labour accidents and diseases, as provided for in laws, collective agreements, statutory agreements or signing-on conventions and integration benefits laid down in laws, regulations or national bargaining agreements. Crew members aboard sea-going ships of any tonnage and engine propelled, going to sea even for pleasure purposes, as well as crafts and floating boats of any kind for sea-port service supply must be covered with the insurance against occupational accidents and diseases. Also crew members aboard sea-going fishing vessels are included in this group. The insurance against occupational accidents and diseases includes the ship crew, considering as such all those employees regularly registered on the crew register or in any case embarked for ship service. For ships without crew register, the components of the crew are considered those people registered on the navigation license and all those registered in the muster book as laid down in the law, or anyway embarked for shipping service (as, in particular, employees of the so called onboard assignees - companies authorized by the Maritime Authority - having a contract of provision of any services on ships). With an exclusion for the statutory insurance against involuntary unemployment, also the freighter and the ship-owner are subject to the obligation of paying the contributions, as laid down in the articles 265 and 272 of the Code of Navigation, which are part of the crew in ships owned by them. The institute may also take charge of, upon ship owner’s request, the insurance against labour accidents and occupational diseases of the crews of third-country ships. In such a case, the insurance includes the same benefits provided for maritime workers of Italian ships except that its validity is subject, in any time, to the ship owner’s regular payment of contributions. The overall premium of INAIL Navigation Sector is divided in function of specific cate9.

(10) Falls from above in maritime work: a nosological case study and hypothesis for prevention measures. gories of ships. However, some activities (with very few numbers in the current portfolio) have been taken into consideration as insurance branches of their own (board concessionaries, personnel with sea trial tasks, technicians and inspectors, nautical pupils, services contracted aboard). In consideration of that, these are activities to be performed aboard and, therefore, subject to navigation risks but not connected to the specific tasks of the personnel embarked, that is the sea-going personnel; these tasks shall be intended as the whole technical human activities carried out for the conduction of the nautical means. Therefore, the specific activities have been differentiated with the purpose of monitoring the incidence of risk. The shipping types are thus classified according to the following categories: 1) Passengers, including cruise ships registered with major vessels numbers, provided with a muster book, with characteristics, allocations and accommodations reserved to the crew and able to deep sea going and employed in activities of transport, especially of people. 2) Cargo, includes sea-going ships registered as major ships, provided with a muster book, with features, equipments and accommodations reserved for the crew and able to deep sea going and employed in activity of transport, especially goods. 3) Auxiliary sea-going ships are those ships devoted to carry out auxiliary functions and reserved to deliver services related to sea-going navigation. The kind of naval units in this category is differentiated and includes: pontoons, cockle boats, barges, dredgers, pilot boats and floats. Auxiliary activities include, in addition to general maritime and port services and works, anti-pollution activities, platform siding, scientific research, storage and bunkering. 4) Tug and towing boats and vessels include technical means reserved to dragging services; in reference to the insurance coverage there is a distinction between port trailer (trailer-maneuver) and deep sea towing (towing transport). 5) Local traffic include the ships registered in the registers of minor vessels provided with a license or ships registered with the number of major vessels with sea-going limitations included in the muster book, which can be employed in activities of transport of people or goods, or both. 6) Pleasure crafts, include any propelled boats and ships reserved to recreational navigation, carried out in sea waters for sporting or pleasure purposes, with the crew embarked with a signing-on contract. 7) The category of sea fishing includes coastal fishing, Mediterranean fishing and fishing beyond straits. The Italian legislation on fishing provides, from an insurance point of view, the distinction between the part related to the sea going activities, and the other which regards inland fishing and the complementary activities of culture in lagoon farming, oyster-farming, mussel farming. 8) Other branches include the insurance covering board concessionaries (moving personnel who carries out auxiliary services aboard ships, for example business or recreational activities aboard cruise ships), the personnel reserved to sea trials (personnel used in building sites for the verification of ships), technicians and students in professional schools. 10.

(11) Falls from above in maritime work: a nosological case study and hypothesis for prevention measures. In 2010, the INAIL, Navigation Sector, covered the crews of approximately 6,800 ships, against occupational accidents and diseases, and recorded a slight increase in the insured units as compared to 2009 (+ 1.2%). The slight increase in the number of insured people also included an increase in the contributions assessed equal to 2% and got to over 83 million Euros. Such a contribution amount has been used to cover both insurance expenditure deriving from occupational accidents and diseases and to grant other benefits provided for by the Institute. Among the different categories of insured ships, the Fishing Units account for the highest number, representing the 48%, with the Pleasure units representing the 19.8% of the ships/boats insured by Inail.. Table 1.0.1 - Distribution of boats and ships insured in the year 2010 by ship category. Ship category. Ships / Boats / vessels. Fishing vessel (1) of which on the coast. 3.260 3.100. (48,0%) (45,7%). Pleasure (2). 1.341. (19,8%). Cargo. 628. (9,3%). Auxiliary sea-going ships. 470. (6,9%). Local traffic. 394. (5,8%). Passenger (3). 330. (4,9%). Tugboats. 312. (4,6%). Other (4). 50. (0,7%). 6.785. (100%). Totae. (1) Coastal fishing + Mediterranean Fishing + Over strait fishing (2) Pleasure crafts: this category includes ships and crafts with any propelled means reserved to recreational seagoing activities for sport or pleasure, with an onboard crew hired on a signing-on contract basis (3) Passenger + Board concessionaries + Pleasure crafts on rental registered in the “International Register” (4) Ship testing crew, technicians and inspectors (these are professional categories and not ship types). From the data included in the table above, it is possible to observe that almost half of the insured units is engaged in the so called “coastal fishing” (45.7%), that is the fishing activity that is mostly performed along the Italian continental and island coasts at a distance below twenty miles. 11.

(12) Falls from above in maritime work: a nosological case study and hypothesis for prevention measures. Figure 1.0.1 - Distribution of ships/crafts insured in the year 2010 by ship category .. Fish hingg. Ple easu ure. Cargo. Au uxiliaary ship p. Lo ocal Passsen ngerr sship pping. Tugg and d tow wingg. O the er. When we analyze the distribution of the onboard personnel insured in relation to the typology of craft, it is noted that almost two thirds of those exposed to risk are concentrated in the categories of “Passenger”, which includes cruise ships registered in the major vessels registration numbers, with muster book, features, equipments and accommodations allowing them to deep sea-going and employed in transport activities (mainly of people) and of “Fishing”, the latter as a category including professional fishing crafts, with activities performed by maritime fishermen and fishing companies, registered in the registers of the Harbourmasters’ Offices.. Table 1.0.2 - Distribution of employees / year for craft category - year 2010. Ship types (categories). Employees/year. Passenger (3). 10.633. (33,2%). Fishing (1). 9.468. (29,6%). Cargo. 5.871. (18,3%). Tug. 1.965. (6,1%). Auxiliary sea-going ships. 1.593. (5,0%). Recreational (2). 1.417. (4,4%). Local traffic. 1.002. (3,1%). 67. (0,2%). 32.016. (100%). Other (4) Total. (1) Coastal fishing + Mediterranean Fishing + Over strait fishing (2) Pleasure crafts: this category includes ships and crafts with any propelled means reserved to recreational seagoing activities for sport or pleasure, with an onboard crew hired on a signing-on contract basis (3) Passenger + Board concessionaries + Pleasure crafts on rental registered in the “International Register” (4) Ship testing crew, technicians and inspectors (these are professional categories and not ship types). 12.

(13) Falls from above in maritime work: a nosological case study and hypothesis for prevention measures. It is highlighted that the people exposed to risk are intended as the employees per year, whose number includes the workers employed in the maritime sector for the entire year, or the number of workers estimated on the basis of the overall number of workdays employed for each ship in 2010 by every seamen of the crew, insured by the Inail, Navigation Sector.. Figure 1.0.2 - Percentage distribution of workers/year for ship type - year 2010.. 33,2 29,6. 18,,3. 6,1. 5. 4,4 4. 3,11 0,2 2. Fishin ng. easu ure Ple boat b ts. Cargo o. Auxxiliaary shipss. Lo ocal shipping. Passenggerss. Tugg annd tow winng. Ottherr. 1.2 The composition of the italian fleet according to the MIT data With the purpose of statistical analysis, the MIT receives the information regarding the composition of the fleets of different types of naval units from sources distinguished according to the nature of the service provided. The information related to the composition of the fleet of merchant units, such as cargo units and passenger transport units (ro-pax), the auxiliary units, as well as the information related to the composition of recreational and pleasure crafts, come from the registers of the peripheral Offices of the Ministry. To this regard, it is stressed that merchant units with an overall tonnage of more than 100 tsl are recorded, and that the high number of units with a width equal or above 10 metres are not included in the composition of pleasure units, such as the Pleasure boats, for which there is an obligation of registration according to the applicable regulations. The information related to the fishing units are, on the contrary, extrapolated from the Eurostat site, to which the General Direction for maritime fishing and aquaculture of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Forestry Policies sends its information. 13.

(14) Falls from above in maritime work: a nosological case study and hypothesis for prevention measures. The data related to the composition both of accidents and injuries, for every ship type, come from the accident forms provided for in the Article 26 of the Legislative Decree of 27 July 1999, n. 271 and from the outcomes of the investigations carried out by the Peripheral Offices of the MIT. From the data collected in some international studies it results that the Italian Merchant Fleet is the first one in the European Union for number of units, and eleventh in the world for tonnage. Until 2007, it was the second merchant fleet of the European Union; in the following years (2008-2009) it was the first fleet for number of passenger traffic, whilst it is at the third place for volume of transport of goods. The tables and the figures below have been processed using the information and the data extrapolated from the National Accounts of Infrastructures and Transports for the years 2006-2011, for the data related to merchant and pleasure ships, and from the Eurostat databank for the information on the Italian fishing fleet and the data of the European merchant craft. The composition of the Italian merchant fleet of gross tonnage above 100 tons and the fishing fleet in the period 2005-2010 is the following:. Table 1.1.1 - Composition of the Merchant Fleet, metal-hull vessels, gross tonnage above 100 tons Years 2005-2010. Numero Type of ship. 2005. 2006. 2007. 2008. 2009. 2010. Ship for the transport of passengers and goods and passengers. 375. 383. 395. 377. 376. 377. Dry-bulk ships. 261. 287. 286. 295. 316. 347. Liquid-bulk ships. 291. 297. 293. 315. 329. 339. Special ships. 458. 462. 454. 455. 455. 485. 1.385. 1.429. 1.428. 1.442. 1.476. 1.548. Total. Source: National Account of Infrastructures and Transports, based on data from MIT, Harbourmaster’s offices. 1 International Shipping Facts and Figures - Information Resources on Trade, Safety, Security, Environment, IMO Maritime Knowledge Centre, 2012, data from IHS Fairplay “World Fleet Statistics 2010” (information updated to 31 december 2010). 2 Energy, transport and environment indicators, Eurostat Pocketbooks, 2011.. 14.

(15) Falls from above in maritime work: a nosological case study and hypothesis for prevention measures. Number. Figure 1.1.1 - Composition of the Italian metal hull fleet, with gross tonnage above 100 tons - Years 2005-2010.. 1600 1400 1200 1000 800 600 400 200 0 2005. Special ships. 2006. Liquid-bulk ships. 2007 Dry-bulk ships. 2008. 2009. 2010. Passengers / goods and passengers ships. As it may be observed from the tables and figures above, over the period 2005-2010 the composition of the fleet of passenger transport and passenger-goods transport remained essentially unchanged, whilst the fleets related to other ship types presents a slight increase trend over the same period. The distinction for age classes of the Italian merchant fleet as to 31 December 2010 highlights a relevant share of old-age units, in particular for special and auxiliary vessels (in which the units aged more than 20 years represent 59.48% of the whole fleet in 2010) and for the passenger and passenger-goods transport units they are 50.40%. Liquid bulk carriers result as the ship type which has been mostly renovated: in fact, it includes units aged less than 9 years, that is 56.93% and only 22.42% of liquid-bulk carriers are more than 20 years old. Table 1.1.2 - Italian Merchant Fleet, metal hull, with gross tonnage above 100 tons, distinguished according to age group and ship type, as to 31 December 2010. Number Ship type. Age group (years) 0-9. 10 - 19 20 and beyond. Total. Ship for the transport of passengers and of goods and passengers. 105. 82. 190. 377. Dry-bulk ships. 149. 58. 140. 347. Liquid-bulk ships. 193. 70. 76. 339. Special ships. 107. 91. 287. 485. Total Merchant ships. 554. 301. 693. 1548. Source: National Account of Infrastructures and Transports, based on data from MIT, Harbourmaster’s offices. 15.

(16) Falls from above in maritime work: a nosological case study and hypothesis for prevention measures. Figure 1.1.2 - Italian Merchant Fleet, metal hull, with gross tonnage above 100 tons, subdivided according to age classes and ship type, as to 31 December 2010.. 600. Number. 500 400 300 200 100 0 Ship for the transport of passengers and of goods and passengers. Dry-bulk ships. Liquid-bulk ships. Special ships. Type of ship 0-9. 10 - 19. 20 and beyond. Unlike the merchant fleet, the fish catching fleet has shown a steady declining trend over the whole period taken into account in the study, and in 2010 showed a decrease in the number of units of approximately 6% as compared to the fleet observed in 2005. This decline regards in particular the units long more than 24 metres, that in 2010 show a smaller composition of more than 20% as compared to 2005 values.. Table 1.1.3 - Composition of the Italian fish catching fleet, according to size - Years 2005-2010. Number Length. 2005. 2006. 2007. 2008. 2009. 2010. Less than 24 m. 13.817. 13.531. 13.253. 13.156. 13.080. 13.050. More than 24 m. 584. 562. 527. 527. 507. 465. 14.401. 14.093. 13.780. 13.683. 13.587. 13.515. Total Processing of data from Eurostat source. 16.

(17) Falls from above in maritime work: a nosological case study and hypothesis for prevention measures. Figure 1.1.3 - Composition of the Italian fish catching fleet, size - Year 2010.. below 24 m 96,56%. above 24 m 3,44%. As we have observed before for other ship types, also for fish catching units fleet renovation is weak; in particular, from 2006 to 2010 the share of ships aged less than 10 years went from 12.02% to 10.45% whilst the share of ships aged equal or more than 20 years has grown over the same period from 67.84% to 73.44%.. Table 1.1.4 - Composition of the Italian fish catching fleet, age - Years 2005-2010. Number Age. 2005. 2006. 2007. 2008. 2009. 2010. Less than 10 years. 1.453. 1.694. 1.632. 1.645. 1.480. 1.412. between 10 and 20 years. 2.610. 2.826. 2.576. 2.548. 2.054. 1.938. 20 years and more. 7.812. 9.560. 9.537. 9.307. 9.869. 9.925. unknown. 2.526. 13. 35. 183. 184. 240. 14.401. 14.093. 13.780. 13.683. 13.587. 13.515. Total Processing of data from Eurostat source. 17.

(18) Falls from above in maritime work: a nosological case study and hypothesis for prevention measures. Figure 1.1.5 - Composition of the Italian fish catching fleet, age - Years 2005-2010.. 16.000 14.000 12.000 10.000 8.000 6.000 4.000 2.000 0 2005 unknown. 2006 20 years and more. 2007. 2008. between 10 and 20 years. 2009. 2010. Less than 10 years. In the table and the figure below the composition of pleasure crafts over the period 2005-2010 is shown.. Table 1.1.5 - Composition of the pleasure crafts registered in the peripheral Offices of the MIT and of the Harbourmaster’s Offices - Years 2005-2010. Year. Number of units. 2004. 90.624. 2005. 92.599. 2006. 95.530. 2007. 97.308. 2008. 100.227. 2009. 101.271. 2010. 102.041. Processing of the data reported in “Il Diporto Nautico in Italia” [water recreational sailing in Italy], years 2006-2010. 18.

(19) Falls from above in maritime work: a nosological case study and hypothesis for prevention measures. Figure 1.1.6 - Composition of pleasure crafts registered in the peripheral Offices of the MIT and of the Harbourmaster’s Offices - Years 2005-2010.. 1 105 1 103. N ber in tho ands Number thousands. 1 101 99 97 95 93 91 89 87 85 Regissterred pleaasure craft c ts. 2004. 2005. 90 0.624. 92.599. 2006 95.530 0. 2007 7. 200 08. 20 009. 2 2010. 97 7.30 08. 100.2 227 7. 101 1.27 71. 10 02.0 041. It should be observed that only the pleasure craft units, considered without taking into account the crafts of less than 10 metres length, not registered with the Registration Numbers of competent Harbourmaster’s Offices, result, in terms of number of units, about ten times higher than the number of merchant units.. 19.

(20) Falls from above in maritime work: a nosological case study and hypothesis for prevention measures. 2.. Regulatory framework of reference. 2.1 The sources of the regulations concerning safety and health of maritime work In Italy there is a special and independent body of rules regulating the maritime sector. It is based on a system of independent rules implying the recourse to the ordinary law only in a completely subsidiary way; in our legal system this is the only law with such a feature. It is also a system of substantial common origin; in fact, in the maritime law, we can find rules which have been originating from maritime habits and customs connected to international business. Moreover, the rules and laws regulating this sector show a great uniformity that is, at the same time, a necessity required also by the need to have a uniform regulations of the international conventions currently applied to the maritime sector. On the other hand, the issue of safety and health on the workplace has recently been the subject of a new regulation with the issuing of the legislative Decree of 9 April 2008 n. 81 and subsequent modification (the so-called Consolidation Act of work safety (Testo Unico)). The provisions contained in the above mentioned decree establish the implementation of the Article 1 of Law n. 123 of 1 August 2007 and are aimed at implementing the adjustment and the reform of current laws concerning health and safety of workers in the workplaces, through the reorganization and the coordination of these laws into a single regulatory text. The legislative Decree pursues such an objective in compliance with the relevant community rules and the international conventions. Just in consideration of the specificity of the Navigation Sector and aware that the application of technical provisions laid down in the Legislative Decree n. 81/2008, basically developed for the civil and industrial sectors, result as incompatible with the current technical standard of functioning applied to some sectors, including the maritime one, we proceed to give some explanation. In fact, the Article 3, paragraph 2, of the Legislative Decree n. 81/2008 laid down that “with decrees, to issue within fiftyfive months from the date of entry into force of the above mentioned decree according to Article 17, paragraph 2 of Law n. 400 of 23 August 1988, upon proposal of the competent Ministers, in concert with the Minister of Labour and social policies and the Minister of Health, after acquiring the opinion of the permanent Conference for relations with the State, the regions and the autonomous Provinces of Trento and Bozen, it is ensured that the necessary provisions are laid down to allow for the coordination of regulations on occupational health and safety applicable to land-based activities with the regulation concerning the working activities aboard ships, as referred to the legislative decree n. 271 of 27 July 1999; port working activities, as referred in legislative decree n. 272 of 27 July 1999 and the activities related to fish catching ships, as referred to in the legislative decree n. 298 of 17 August 1999...”. The paragraph 3 of the same article clarifies that until the issuing of the above mentioned decrees (article 3, paragraph 2) “[there is no] prejudice for the implementing 20.

(21) Falls from above in maritime work: a nosological case study and hypothesis for prevention measures. provisions of the article 1, paragraph 2 of legislative Decree n. 626 of 19 September 1994, as well as the provisions referred to legislative decree n. 271 of 27 July 1999 to legislative decree n. 272 of 27 July 1999, to legislative decree n. 298 of 17 August 1999” which then represent the specific legislative body of reference, concerning the protection of health and safety of maritime workers aboard merchant and fish catching ships. Following the missed issuing of the implementing Regulation recalled by the Legislative Decree n. 271/1999, the Division 4 of the Maritime and Internal Security of the Ministry of Transport released the Letter n. 09/SM of 28 November 2006 in which it established, on the basis of what provided for in the “Directives on the prevention of accidents aboard of ships” issued by the ILO as well as by the information letter MCS-MEPC.2/Circ.3 of 5 June 2006 - the guidelines to carry on the Risk evaluation aboard ships, including the indications to process the documents referred to letters a) and b) of paragraph 1 of the Article 6 of the Legislative Decree n. 271/1999. Finally, it is stressed that the work activities concerning naval building sites, which in some cases involve naval crew members, are regulated by the Legislative decree n. 272/1999 as far as Workers safety is concerned.. 2.2 A comparison between the Italian regulatory system concerning ship-specific safety and the Legislative Decree n. 81/2008 As already explained, the currently applicable legislation for the protection of safety and health aboard ships is essentially represented by the Legislative Decree n. 271/1999 that has the purpose of: - Concerning work security, providing an insurance for the protection of health and prevention of work accidents and occupational diseases; - Deciding the duties and the specific responsibilities of ship-owners, seafarers and other operators concerned by the evaluation of risks; - Establishing, in relation to the hygiene of work, the criteria concerning hygiene and fitness of crew accommodations. However, such a domain is, in particular, regulated, for the Italian flag, by Law n. 45 of 16 June 1939 (so called “Hygiene and habitability”). The Article 5 of the Legislative decree n. 271/1999 establishes also that some general measures of protection be applied, including the following: - Evaluation of the situations of risk for safety and health, in relation to the working activity performed aboard; - Elimination of the risks deriving from the use of substances that are dangerous for workers’ health, by substituting these materials with others in compliance with the available technologies in naval designing and building or by reducing as far as possible their use aboard; - Reduction of risks at source; 21.

(22) Falls from above in maritime work: a nosological case study and hypothesis for prevention measures. In the articles 6 to 10, the obligations are addressed which the ship-owner, the commander, the seafarer, the designer and the ship builder and any providers must comply to. In particular, the article 6.1 requires that the ship-owner evaluate the risks, requiring the technical staff of the naval construction to prepare a Security Plan of the working environment, as referred to article 117 of the Navigation Code and to article 275 of the relevant implementation Regulation. The working environment security Plan, in particular shall be prepared including: - The detailed project of the units in which arrangements for the working environment are located; - The specific technique of the unit, including all the elements useful to the evaluation of the hygiene and safety conditions aboard the ship; - The technical report on the evaluation of risks for the protection of health and safety of maritime workers in connection with the performance of the working activity aboard; in the report, the criteria adopted for the evaluation and the prevention and protection measures of workers are specified, as well as the implementation plan of any actions aimed at improving the level of hygiene and safety aboard. The article 25 of Legislative Decree n. 271/1999 also regulates the procedures to adopt in case of injury aboard. In particular, independently from the period in which the seafarer has been inactive and, therefore, from the entity of the injury - the shipowner is required to report the accident to the maritime authority, the insurance institute and the ASL of the compartment in which the ship is registered. The elements relevant to the injury are reported also in the Registry of accidents that is kept aboard. In the Annex I to the Legislative Decree n. 271/1999 the factors of strain are described and classified according to the following four groups. 1. Land and aboard management of the ship (work management and planning, procedures, etc.); 2. Elements concerning the ship (automation level, equipment reliability, microclimate, vibrations, etc.) ; 3. Elements concerning the crew (training, expertise, skills and competences. etc.); 4. External environmental factors (weather, port, sea-lane bustle, etc.). The legislative decree provides for the establishment of some specific roles apt to promote the activities of health and safety prevention and protection, such as the workers Representative for safety; the prevention and protection service Supervisor; the people in charge of the prevention and protection service against risks; the competent doctor. In general, the legislative decree n. 271/1999 lays down almost integrally all the procedures provided for in the legislative decree n. 626/1994 (now legislative decree 81/2006 and subsequent integrations and modifications) and in particular the details contained in the annexes to the law text, being limited to define only the specific fea22.

(23) Falls from above in maritime work: a nosological case study and hypothesis for prevention measures. tures of the seafaring work, also because many requirements have been already regulated by international and community rules. As any other employer, the ship-owner and the shipmaster are also required to inform the seafarers of the specific risks to which they are exposed during the performance of regular working activities and to train them on the appropriate use of work equipments, tools and the personal protection devices in compliance with the provisions contained in the Security Plan laid down on the basis of what provided for in the art. 6.1 of legislative decree n. 271/1999 and the above mentioned Information letter n. 09/SM of 28 November 2006 of the MIT. Moreover, the ship-owner shall provide for the training and exercising of the maritime workers concerning the hygiene and safety of the occupational environment aboard, preparing appropriate operation handbooks and require workers to comply with the rules concerning hygiene and safety as well as the use of personal protection devices at workers’ disposal.. 2.3 Risk evaluation and the regulations concerning the falls from height It is very important, for the study under examination, the legislative Decree n. 235 of 8 July 2003 that implements the Directive 2001/45/CE concerning the minimum requirements in terms of safety and health for the use of work equipments by workers and subsequently made part in the Heading II, Title IV of legislative Decree n. 81/2008 Article 105 and following. This rule establishes the minimum requirements concerning safety and health for the use of work equipments during performance of occasional tasks at height; moreover, a definition is given of “working at height” as a working activity that exposes the worker to the risk of falling from a height measured at more than 2 metres from a floor. Works at height may expose workers at particularly severe risks. In particular, we are referring here to the risk of falling from height, following a presentation, at the Ministry of Labour, which raised a number of requests to explain and clarify the relevant rules; the Ministry released an Information letter n. 29 of 27 August 2010 that, as a questionanswer model, defines in a clear way the actual scope of effectiveness of the relevant regulation and in particular of the provisions laid down in the Chapter II Title IV of legislative decree 81/2008. In particular, the regulation in question describes in detail the employer’s obligations concerning the use of equipments for the performance of works at height and establishes that “the employer, in cases in which occasional tasks at height cannot be carried out in conditions of safety and in appropriate ergonomic conditions in a fitted place, chooses the equipments most appropriate to guaranteeing and maintain safe labour conditions, in conformity with the following criteria: a) Collective protection measures should always take priority over personal protection measures. b) Working equipment size shall be suitable to the nature of works to be carried out, to predictable strains and to a risk-free circulation. 23.

(24) Falls from above in maritime work: a nosological case study and hypothesis for prevention measures. Other obligations of the employer in case of works at height regard: • The choice of the most appropriate access way to temporary jobs at height in relation to the frequency of circulation, difference in height and length of task; • The adopted system of access shall allow for the evacuation in case of imminent danger; • The passage from an access system of platforms, scaffolding, boardwalks and viceversa shall not entail further risks of falling; • The use of the rope ladder as a workstation at height only in the cases in which the use of other equipments considered as safer is not justified due to the limited level or risk and of the short length of time or, of the existing features of the places that cannot be modified; • The employment of access and positioning systems through ropes to which the worker is directly supported, only in circumstances in which, following the risk evaluation, results that the task may be carried out in security and the employment of another working equipment considered as safer is not justified due to the limited level or risk and of the short length of time or, of the existing features of the places that cannot be modified; • the identification of measures appropriate to minimize the risks connected to the relevant equipments, predicting, if necessary, the implementation of protection devices against falls. The above mentioned devices shall be shaped and resistant in such a way as to be able to avoid or to stop the falls from workstations at height and to prevent, as far as possible, any injuries to workers. The collective protection devices against falls may have interruptions only in the points in which rope ladders or ladders are employed. Occasional works at height should be carried out only in case the weather conditions do jeopardise workers safety and health. In case of employment of scaffolding, the decree identifies the employer’s or shipowner’s obligations: they are required to prepare, through a supervisor, a plan of assembling, use and disassembling, in relation to the complexity of the chosen scaffolding. Such a plan may be a general implementation plan, integrated with instructions and detailed designs for special schemes constituting the scaffolding system; the plan shall be given to the supervisor in charge of surveillance and to any concerned workers. In August 2012 a new edition of the UNI EN 363:2008 rule “Personal equipment for the protection against falls - Personal system for the protection against falls” was published. The document specifies the general features and the assembling of personal protection systems against falls; it provides some examples of specific types of personal devices for the protection against falls and describes the way the components may be assembled into the systems. The same designing features of the ship, made of different places, often narrow, but often connected to each other and interconnected by hundreds of tubes and electric 24.

(25) Falls from above in maritime work: a nosological case study and hypothesis for prevention measures. cables, the presence aboard, almost everywhere, of material or liquid fuels, often inflammable, require that anyone working aboard would not do it autonomously, but on the basis of a clear-cut work organization, appropriately studied to avoid that the work of a person in charge may interfere with the work of other people in charge, thus representing a danger for the safety of people aboard the ship and for the ship as a whole. At the international and European level, attention is drawn on the specific activities carried out aboard ships and on the way the risks should be assessed and improving actions conceived in order to eliminate and/or reduce the hazard. From a regulative point of view, the following regulations and guidelines published by international organisms and associations working in the maritime sector may be very useful. In 1993, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) with the Resolution A.741 (18) adopted on 4 November 1993, published the so-called ISM Code, that is the International Management Code for the Safe Operation of Ships and for Pollution Prevention. In particular, the ISM Code, that is being applied to all of the ships subjected to the SOLAS, that is the ship of more than 500 GT, is aimed at ensuring safety at sea in order to prevent damages or the loss of human lives, and also to avoid disasters with special reference to those that may affect the marine environment. The ISM Code establishes that such objectives should be met through the application of Ship Management System (SMS), to be implemented by a Management Company that has to: - establish safety procedures during the ship management and to the working environment; - define protection measures against risks; - constantly improve the Management system of the staff working at land and those working aboard, preparing emergency management procedures related both to the ship safety and to the environment’s protection. Also in this case, as it may be deduced by the title that identifies the ISM Code, the IMO attention was focused on ship safety, moving, however, the point of view on the human contribution in ship management, which, if it is being carried out without applying the relevant procedures, may entail a danger both to the ship and to the workers aboard and the marine environment. The adoption of a Management System of ship safety has produced, therefore, a procedure planning and an ongoing monitoring of many working activities aboard with a consequent improvement of the labour conditions. Afterwards, with the Resolution MSC.273 (85) of 4 December 2008, entered into force on 1 July 2010, the IMO modified the ISM Code, prescribing the preparation of a Risk Assessment that, in fact, becomes part of the procedures provided for by the Code and by the Safety Management System (SMS). Following this, on 21 May 2010 the General Command of the Organism of 25.

(26) Falls from above in maritime work: a nosological case study and hypothesis for prevention measures. Harbourmaster’s Offices issued the General Series Circular letter n. 83 in which the new procedures laid down in Resolution MSC.273 (85) for the ISM Code are specified, as explained in the following points: 1) Sect. 1.2.2 “assessing the risk regarding the ship, the crew members, the environment and establish appropriate countermeasures”. a) the risk assessment, according to law, might be developed according to the ship type, integrating, if necessary, the assessment activity for equipments and/or specific operation of single units. The assessment, carried out also as “on site” activity and with the contribution of qualified personnel in the specific maritime sector, should bring effectively to the identification of, at least, what is already in use into existing handbooks “procedures and instructions” (generally referred to in Chapter 12). b) It is also appropriate that a “standard procedure” of risk assessment be developed, which may be applied in case it would result necessary to carry on an operation / activity aboard that has not yet been assessed. The risk assessment, in such a circumstance, shall have to be developed by the Company, using the data provided by the ship command and in compliance with the above mentioned “standard procedure”. Such activity of risk assessment requires to be appropriately documented. The accompanying documents shall be available to auditors, upon request, when the audit is being performed in the company. c) Concerning the part related to the personnel, it is deemed necessary to proceed to another risk assessment, which reflects the new regulation, considering as a complete legal tool what it has been laid down when applying the provisions included in the Circular Letter 09/SM on 28 November 2006 by the Ministry of Transport, implementing the provisions laid down in the legislative Decree n. 271/1999. The above references are applicable as far as the mentioned risk assessment was submitted for approval according to the procedure laid down in the legislative Decree n. 271/1999 in force and in the Circular Letter 09/SM. d) Moreover, the new compliance emerging from the handbook will reveal as indispensable only insofar as, upon assessment of the risks, it might be necessary to bring some substantial modifications to the relevant chapter and the deriving procedures. What is laid down above is without prejudice for the evaluation carried out which shall be included in the handbook and in the updated procedures. e) It should be remarked that, up to now, the IMO has not yet identified any methodology to follow in the “risk assessment” process, thus letting single companies to choose, at their discretion, the most appropriate techniques to the situations to be assessed. Concerning the complete and updated risk assessment of the personnel, this one may be found in the documentation required according to the legislative Decree n. 271/1999 and subsequent modifications. At the same time, if the company holds an ISO14001 certifica26.

(27) Falls from above in maritime work: a nosological case study and hypothesis for prevention measures. tion related to environmental protection issues, the SMS handbook may refer to the documents of the environmental management system or to the assessments of the risks carried on by the Company managing oil cargo ships, in order to meet the TMSA (Tanker Management and Self Assessment) requirements. 2) 12.1 “The Company is required to carry out the internal and aboard assessments of its safety management system at intervals no longer than 12 months with the purpose of assessing that the safety and prevention activities against pollution are performed in conformity with the safety management system. In exceptional circumstances, that period could be extended to three months further”. a) The Company will proceed to assess the exceptional circumstances and it shall give evidence by means of the procedures provided for in the management system.. Circular Letter, General Series n. 83 The Circular Letter n. 83 of 21 May 2010 of the General Command of the Harbourmaster’s Offices, contains in annex - for the first time in Italy - an example of Risk Scheme similar to the one adopted, for example, in the Oil Market. As a we have seen before, until the 1 of July 2010, the date in which the Resolution MSC.273 (85), issued by the IMO on 4 December 2008, entered in force, at the international level such a specific regulation did not exist requiring the preparation of the Safety Assessment and Evaluation of Risks; these procedures were generally required in relevant national regulations, such as the legislative Decree n. 271/1999 in Italy, or by Ship management Companies or by specific requests of freighters. Anyway, in such a context, international organisms such as the International Association of Classification Societies (IACS), which includes all major ranking organisms following the construction and the classification of the ships published some Guidelines. Specifically, the IACS already issued in 2004 a Guide to Risk Assessment for ships operating on their own. The Guide was recently implemented and ratified by the IACS Resolution n. 127 of June 2012.. 27.

(28) Falls from above in maritime work: a nosological case study and hypothesis for prevention measures. As in the case of what provided for in the ISM Code and in the Circular of the Harbourmasters’ Offices in Italy, the IACS Resolution n. 127 lays down the purposes of the Risk Assessment summarizing the routine process of management according to the following flow scheme.. In this case too, the Risk Scheme is introduced. The Scheme is very similar to that identified in the Circular Letter n. 83 of 21 May 2010 by the Command of Harbourmaster’s Offices.. It should be considered that the Risk Scheme, at the moment, is only an instrument that was studied to simplify the Risk Assessment in addition to make the interpretation of risks easier for seafarers and people in charge. In particular, the current trend at the international level, as also set out in the IACS 28.

(29) Falls from above in maritime work: a nosological case study and hypothesis for prevention measures. Resolution n. 127, is that of assessing the Risk Scheme in a more flexible way. It is therefore introduced the principle according to which the risk should be reduced at a level which is “as low as is reasonably practicable”. Such an approach is called ALARP, from the English acronym “as low as is reasonably practicable”; its principles are summarized in the so-called “ALARP triangle”.. To sum up, at the international level there is currently a shift from the approach of Risk assessment to that of Risk management. In such a context, the Member States were required to adopt any necessary measures to carry out the ship inspections, in particular providing the competent authorities with qualified inspectors (Port Sate Control Inspector - PSC). Inspections are, therefore, classified according to two priority categories: priority ships I for which the inspection is mandatory and priority ships II for which the inspection is optional. It should be observed that the risk outlook attributed to a ship in stopover or mooring in a port is determined considering such parameters as age and type of ship, State, compliance with the regulations by the company or, also, number of anomalies or recent “stops”. Competent authorities assess that any shortcomings observed or revealed during inspection are rectified according to the relevant conventions. In case of shortcomings representing an apparent hazard for safety, health or environment, the competent authority of the Port State shall assess that the ship is in custody or that its operation is blocked. Of course, the owner or the ship-owner, or his representative in the Member State is entitled to appeal against the decision of the competent authority. 29.

(30) Falls from above in maritime work: a nosological case study and hypothesis for prevention measures. 2.4 An analysis of the legal framework with reference to the “Maritime Labour Convention” (MLC 2006) In the international domain, the Maritime Labour Convention of 2006 (MLC 2006) adopted on 23 February 2006 in Geneva is a very important instrument concerning safety and health of maritime workers. It is actually the final stage of a long process of integration of more than 65 conventions and recommendations of the International Labour Organization (ILO) adopted in the last 80 years, regarding maritime workers. With the ratification by the Government of Philippines on 20 August 2012 and the subsequent signature by thirty subscribers, a procedure to bring the entry into force of the MLC 2006 due on 20 August 2013 has started. In this way there will be a single text including all of the updated rules laid down in the current international conventions and recommendations concerning maritime work; this text resumes the basic principles contained in the other international convention concerning work in general. It is necessary to recall that maritime transport of any kind and mode is a globalized activity, in the widest sense of this term. In fact, not only the ship is able to move freely and, thus, get to any country of the world, but it may also sail under different flags and may take on board crew members of different nationalities. In particular, a ship may address to a very wide labour market both in relation to the circulation and allocation of capitals and in the distribution and acquisition of work. For this reason, for safety reasons as well as for commercial and social dumping under the auspices of some UN agencies, some international rules have been issued, which regulates any aspects of maritime transport including the ship construction and any criteria applying to the work environment. To the three pillars already in force, that are MARPOL (rules against pollution)3, SOLAS (safety and construction criteria)4 and STCW (training and professional status)5, there is today another pillar: the MLC 2006 (contract, labour, habitability and welfare conditions).. 3 Such convention sets out the minimum feature of mineral oils retention equipments present aboard in addition to the fixed and mobile safety systems to avoid spreading into the sea. 4 It sets up the safety criteria that all of the passenger ships and cargo ships with more than a 500 tons of tonnage must comply with. Moreover, it sets up the construction criteria of the following ship elements: structure, subdivision and stability, machines, electrical and fire-fighting equipments, rescue means and accommodation, radio communication. Sea-going safety. Bulk transport. Dangerous goods transport. Nuclear ships. Safety management of ships (ISM Code. SMS). Safety measure for fast crafts. Special measures to improve safety at sea. Additional safety measures for bulk carriers. Fire-fighter construction. 5 The acronym STCW stands for the International Convention on Standard of Training, Certification and Watch keeping for Seafarers. The Convention sets out the specializations and the certificates which crew members should possess in relation to the specific tasks (deck, machinery, radio equipments, etc.). Moreover, there are clearly indicated, for any specific function, the following four parameters: specific competences; theoretical knowledge and required expertise; competence assessment methods; criteria of specific competences evaluation. In the code, on the contrary, the specific exercises and procedures required to obtain relevant professional qualifications are described and therefore identified.. 30.

(31) Falls from above in maritime work: a nosological case study and hypothesis for prevention measures. The latest Convention shall constitute at short, the term of reference that all the national regulation structure concerning maritime labour, including health protection and workers safety aboard ships shall take into account. The entry into force of the Convention shall, in fact, produce a set of certain and uniform rules at the international level, so as to determine the technical standards of work security aboard and to reduce of the differences in basic conditions of safety. The MLC Convention 2006 regroups and regulates a set of complex issues (from the work time aboard, to security and health at work, to placement organization, etc.) that require an in-depth work of adjustment of national regulation to these new provisions. In the Article II, paragraph 4 of MLC 2006 it is clearly specified that “Except as expressly provided otherwise, this Convention applies to all ships, whether publicly or privately owned, ordinarily employed in commercial activities, other than ships engaged in fishing or in similar pursuits and ships of traditional build such as dhows and junks. This Convention shall not apply to warships or naval auxiliaries.” The Convention includes three distinguished but connected parts, that is the Articles, the Regulations and the Code. The Articles and the Regulations lay down the fundamental rights and principles as well as the basic obligations of the Member States which ratified the Convention. The Code, on the contrary, sets out how the rules shall be applied and includes a part A (mandatory rules) and a part B (non mandatory Guidelines). From a deeper analysis of title IV of MLC 2006 and a comparison with what has been referred in the legislative decree n. 271/1999, in the legislative decree 298/1999 and in the Law n. 45 of 16 June 1939 (so called “Hygiene and habitability”) it has to be noted how our regulatory system already addresses a good part of international guidelines, even if it is still necessary to recall that the coordination between the contents of the above mentioned decrees and the legislative Decree n. 81/08 make this correspondence even higher. As regards the international regulations referred specifically to the fish catching sector, we are still waiting for the ratification of the Convention n. 188 “Labour in the fish catching sector” of the International Organization of Labour, adopted on 14 June 2007 by 96th session of the International Labour Conference because, as said before, the MLC 2006 excluded the fishing sector from its domain of application. The Convention 188 specifically reviews and updates the Conventions n. 112 of 1959 on the minimum age of fishermen; n. 113 of 1959 on the medical inspection of fishermen; n. 114 of 1959 concerning the employment contract of fishermen and n. 126 of 1966, concerning the accommodations of crew members on fish catching ships. In the Convention other important issues are also addressed, such as health and safety on the workplace, crew member composition and time off, crew members list, return rules, employment and accommodation, social security, compliance with and implementation of MLC 2006.. 31.

(32) Falls from above in maritime work: a nosological case study and hypothesis for prevention measures. 3.. The economic impact of insurance costs. The people protected in the navigation sector, that is crew members of ships who carry out a remunerated employment for an employer, are entitled, in case of accident, to claim a benefit in relation to injury consequences. The occupational accident is an event that is covered by an insurance protection according to a principle of “automaticity” of deriving benefits. The Consolidation Act concerning occupational accidents and diseases (Decree of the President of the Republic n. 1124/1965) does not provide for a legal definition of occupational accident but includes the elements that should be present for an accident being considered as a consequence of the occupational risk: a) The injury, that is the physical or psychic impairment - the death or a permanent inability, or an absolute temporary disablement entailing an absence from work for more than three days. b) A violent cause, that is an external fact that in sudden contact with the worker’s body, provokes the injury. Substantially, the cause should be apt to provoke the impairment. c) The relation between work and accident should not be causal but occasional. Whenever as a consequence of an accident, the doctor decides for the disembarkation of an insured worker, the Institute is required to pay a daily allowance equal to 75% of the remuneration received in the preceding thirty days from the date of disembarkation, reported on the muster book or on the license. The allowance is paid from the day after the disembarkation date and it is paid for the whole period of absolute disability which prevent the injured worker to attend his/her occupation in whole or in part. On the basis of the principle laid down in Article 32 of the Constitution, which acknowledges and protects the right to health not only as a collective interest, but also, and above all, as a fundamental right of the person; and in the reiterated invitations of the Constitutional Court, the law maker provided for, within the scope of the insurance against occupational accidents and diseases, an appropriate coverage and indemnity assessment of the “biological damage”. In the view of compensating the damage to the person as such, independently from any pecuniary consequences, with the issue of the legislative Decree n. 38/2000 and subsequent modifications, the INAIL is in charge of the compensation - in case of occupational accidents occurred and the occupational diseases reported - of any impairments deriving from injuries to the psycho-physical integrity, with a new economic benefit. For the injuries occurred or the occupational diseases appeared from 25 of July 2000, the above mentioned legislative decree n. 38/2000 establishes the following: a) Compensation in capital of the biological damage only according to the degrees of disablement equal or above 6% and below 16%. b) Annuity compensation for degrees of impairment equal or above 16%, of which a 32.

(33) Falls from above in maritime work: a nosological case study and hypothesis for prevention measures. part for biological damage and one for economic damage, determined according the worker’s retribution level and qualification. In case of fatal event, an annuity will be granted to survivors who were dependent on the worker victim of injury; the annuity is 50% of the insured worker’s yearly remuneration for the spouse and 20% for each child until 100%. In carrying out the economic assessment of the insurance costs deriving from the allowances paid out in case of temporary inabilities, we chose to refer to the injuries occurred in 2009; to allow a stabilization of the data with the purpose of following the administrative and medical procedure leading to the closure of a case, and in order to use the information to complete the in-depth analysis of “falls from height” and “slipping on the same level” to which a reference is contained in the paragraph 4.2.3 for the same year. In particular, the 1,300 accidents occurred to maritime workers in 2009 lead to a total amount paid out in relation to temporary inability of more than 11 millions of Euros, an amount that, even if it recorded a decreasing trend of 5.1% as compared to 2008, is anyway rather consistent. Such an amount is a result imputable to accidents occurred in the workplace (98.1%), i.e. those accidents that occurred in carrying out occupational activities or tasks and representing almost the total of all the injuries recorded (97.8%).. Table 3.0.1 - Distribution of the accidents according to the event type, number of workdays and amount paid off - Year 2009. Accident type In the workplace Commuting. 6. Total accidents. Number of accidents 1.271 (97,8%) 29. (2,2%). 1.300 (100%). Paid workdays 134.300 (98,1%) 2.629. Paid off amounts € 11.095.855 (98,1%). (1,9%). 214.901 (1,9%). 136.929 (100%). 11.310.756 (100%). The total amount paid off, in relation to the total amount of accidents reported, served to pay a number of absences from work due to injury almost equal to 137,000, the 98.1% of which due to accidents on the workplace. In reference to this, it is necessary to point out that the costs on which the analysis is focused only regard the ones that the INAIL took in charge and do not take into account the costs sustained by the National Health Service and by society in general. 6 Commuting accidents, according to the Article 6 of the Decree of the President of the Republic n. 1124/1965, are intended the accident occurring during the travel to embark onboard ships in which crew members either are on service or they shall be returned in case the layoff from the book occurred for any reasons in a different place from which the person was embarked or from the place where the person concerned was when the call to embarkation arrived, as long as in the outward journey or on the way back they do not change their route for any reason.. 33.

(34) Falls from above in maritime work: a nosological case study and hypothesis for prevention measures. Figure 3.0.1 - Distribution of the accidents according to the type of event, number of workdays and amount paid off - Year 2009. 1,9 90% %. 2 0% 2,20. 1,90%. In the e wo orkp place 97,880% %. Nu umb ber of o accid dentts. 98,10% %. Paaid wor w rkdaays. 98 8,10 0%. On the way. o aamo ountts Paid off. 3.1 Incidence and costs of the “Falls from height and slipping on the same level” When we analysed only the accidents occurred in the workplace, that is the only cases on which it is possible to intervene with prevention measures, and we focused the attention only on the falls from height and on slips on the same level, being the subject of this research, we referred to the “deviation” that is a variable that according to the ESAW codification describes the event that, diverting from the norm, led to the injury. On the basis of the information contained in such a variable, it is in fact possible to assess the share of payment attributable to cases due to slip or stumble with falls on the same level or from height. This share, as shown in the table below, results as the most consistent (59.2% of the whole amount paid off) with a more than 6.5 million Euros paid off, corresponding to approximately 78,000 paid off workday. Table 3.1.1 - Distribution of the accidents occurred in the workplace according to number, workdays and paid off amounts, divided for the deviation - Year 2009. Deviation Slipping or stumbling - with fall of the person Other deviation No information, undetermined or not present in the explanation Total. Number of accidents. Paid off workdays. Paid off amounts. 645 (50,7%). 77.936 (58%). 6.568.078 (59,2%). 507 (39,9%). 44.603 (33,2%). 3.652.990 (32,9%). 119 (9,4%). 11.761 (8,8%). 874.787 (7,9%). 1.271 (100%). 134.300 (100%). 11.095.855 (100%). 7 E.S.A.W. (European Statistics on Accidents at Work) is the codification system established at European level, which was adopted by the INAIL from January 2001. Initially, it pointed to standardize the classification of the accidents so as to make comparable the statistics processed by Member States and that, subsequently, was focused to describe the injury occurrence dynamics, highlighting the causes and the circumstances.. 34.

(35) Falls from above in maritime work: a nosological case study and hypothesis for prevention measures. Figure 3.1.1 - Distribution of the accidents occurred in the workplace according to number, workdays and paid off amounts, divided according to the deviation - Year 2009.. Numbeer of o acccideentss. Paaid off o w workdaays. P Paid d offf am mounts. N iinfo No ormaatio on, und u etermined d or nott prreseent in th he explana e ationn O er devi Oth d atio on S pingg orr stu Slipp umb blingg – with w h fall off thee peerso on. In particular, with the aim of identifying better and, thus, distinguish, the nature of the falls within the generic group of accidents caused by slipping or stumbling, it is noted that the falls of a person from height are prevailing both in terms of number of events (42.2%) and of paid off amounts (49.8%) as it is also shown in the following table and figure.. Table 3.1.2 - Distribution of accidents occurred at work, caused by slipping or stumbling, according to number, paid off workdays and amounts, distinguished according to slip and fall Year 20099. Number of accidents. Paid off workdays. Paid off amounts. Fall of person from height. 272 (42,2%). 38.815 (49,8%). 3.450.591 (52,5%). Slipping or stumbling with fall of the person - on the same level. 235 (36,4%). 24.034 (30,8%). 1.857.497 (28,3%). Slipping or stumbling with fall of the person - not specified. 138 (21,4%). 15.087 (19,4%). 1.259.990 (19,2%). 645. 77.936. 6.568.078. (100%). (100%). (100%). Detail slip and fall. Total. 35.