Man Dies after Straddle Carrier Overturns at Ports of Auckland

BABATUNDE SCOTT

A New Zealand man whose straddle carrier overturned at Ports of Auckland in New Zealand at 3:45am on August 27 has died.

He died late Monday evening after being taken to Auckland City Hospital, following injuries sustained during the accident.

Ports of Auckland chief executive Tony Gibson said the news was devastating, and the port is providing support for the man’s family, friends and staff. The company and WorkSafe are both investigating.

The incident occurred despite calls from the Maritime Union of New Zealand to the Director of Maritime New Zealand, Keith Manch, for enforceable regulations and improved safety standards on the New Zealand waterfront, following three deaths in New Zealand in 2017.

Last week, the union warned that reform was a matter of life and death. General Secretary Joe Fleetwood said: “This tragic death indicates again the urgent need for enforceable regulations together with mandatory standards of work practices across the New Zealand waterfront. If the government, port companies and stevedoring employers are serious about preventing deaths on the waterfront they must commit to reform the current lack of enforceable regulations.”

Ports of Auckland processed over 580,000 containers in 2017, and plans are underway to introduce automated straddle carriers by 2019, two were delivered to the port earlier this year.

Paddy Crumlin, ITF Dockers’ Section Chair and National Secretary of the Maritime Union of Australia, said: “Another dock worker has been killed at work. This is fast becoming a global epidemic. We know that ports are among the most dangerous workplaces in the world, but every workplace death is preventable.”