SAFE TALK

GANGWAY SAFETY
OIL, GAS AND CHEMICALS SERVICES

APRIL 2012

Introduction
Workers involved in marine cargo inspection frequently use gangways to board and depart vessels. Getting on
and off marine vessels is a very common cause of accidents in our industry and workers have been injured or
killed by falling into the water or onto surfaces below due to the improper rigging and trimming of gangways.

Boarding Clearance
Before attempting to board a
vessel, verify that it is clear for
boarding. Boarding Clearance is
not only important to ensure that
all safety requirements have
been met, but also certain
government agencies, such as
Customs,
Immigration,
Department of Agriculture, etc.,
can penalize you and SGS for
boarding a vessel that has not
been cleared.

platform or landing as there

have been a number of
incidents of these not being
secured or latched properly
A safety net must be placed
under the gangway such
that if a person falls off the
gangway, the safety net will
catch them.

If equipment is too heavy or

awkward to carry up the
gangway, let the vessels
crew or the terminals dock
personnel
hoist
the
equipment to the deck of the
vessel using a crane.
Never rush up or down a
gangway.
The use of life-jackets
(floatation
devices)
is
mandatory

Open Water Boarding

Boarding or transferring to ship
in a harbor or in open seas is
even more problematic. Firstly,
there
are
no
recognized
standards regarding this and to
put hard and fast conditions on
things like wind speed and swell
conditions is quite difficult as
they have a varying impact
depending upon where you are.

When a gangway is used, it

must
meet
the
following
requirements:
It should be a minimum of 50
cm (20 inches) wide.
Each side of the gangway
and turntable must be
protected with handrails and
mid-rails.
Handrails must be at least
80 cm (33 inches) high.
Railings must be made of
wood, pipe, chain, wire, rope
or other materials of equal
strength.
Chain, wire and rope railings
must be kept taut (tightly
strung).
Portable stanchions that
provide support for the
railings must be secured to
prevent them from coming
loose.
Pay
particular
attention to the bottom

Gangway Requirements

Gangway Considerations

Always inspect the gangway

(yourself) prior to usage, to
ensure that all gangway
safety requirements have
been met.
Always keep one hand free
to steady yourself when
using a gangway.

One thing that can help is if the

local pilots have limits then we
should use this as a guide.
Certainly, we should not exceed
what
they
consider
safe;
however, it should be kept in
mind that pilots are more
experienced
that
most
inspectors when it comes to
boarding vessels in the open
ocean and what they consider
acceptable
may
not
be
acceptable for our purposes.

SAFE TALK
GANGWAY SAFETY
OIL, GAS AND CHEMICALS SERVICES

Regardless of the location, the

safety of our staff is paramount
thats above everything; and,
ultimately, we have to rely on the
judgment of the person who is
doing the job. We need to
reinforce to them that they are
not to take any risks and they
must also know that should
decide that a job is too

APRIL 2012
dangerous that we will support
their decision.

Life jackets should be of the

type that will turn an
unconscious person onto
their back and support the
head out of the water. They
should also be equipped
with a whistle and a water
activated light.

Conclusion
Getting on and off vessels, especially at sea or in outer and exposed anchorages is a high risk activity. If in the
inspectors opinion it is not safe to operate then he should do the best job possible in the circumstances and
also to make sure that the appropriate weather forecasts and conditions from appropriate sources are fully
documented and that we keep the client fully appraised of the situation and where possible offer alternatives,
such as meeting the vessel at a protected anchorage and performing the inspection there. We must not bow to
commercial pressure if the safety of our people may be compromised. Therefore, before conducting any task,
including the use of a gangway, Make sure that all safety requirements have been met by others and exceeded
by you.

SAFE TALK
GANGWAY SAFETY
OIL, GAS AND CHEMICALS SERVICES

APRIL 2012

Minutes of Safe Talk Meeting:

Branch:_______________________________ Division: ______________________________
Person Conducting Meeting:__________________________________________________
Attendees:

Additional Items Discussed:

Problem Areas or Concerns:

Comments:

The original is to be maintained at the Branch for

reference and audit purposes. Data from this form is
required as part of your monthly Global QHS&E reporting