The International Association of Dredging Companies (IADC) has just revealed the 7th nominee for its Safety Award 2017 – Jan De Nul Group’s Hatch Covers for Deck Hatches.
When a low deck hatch is in the process of opening, it quickly becomes a dangerous situation. Falling down an unprotected and open hatch presents high potential for a fatal injury, said IADC.
While new vessels have already eliminated this danger by adding waist-high coamings around hatch openings, older vessels leave its crew vulnerable. While many types of ad-hoc barriers have been created to resolve the issue throughout the dredging industry, Jan De Nul Group’s TSHD Capitan Nuñez crew innovated an answer to the problem: stationary stanchions.
Surrounding the deck hatch, the attachment makes the area surrounding the opening safer, whether it is in the open or closed position, or anywhere in between.
By removing the safety pin which secures the stanchion, the add-on can be removed if the need arises, making the solution easy to use.
Older vessels in the Jan De Nul fleet have been retrofitted with the stanchions making for a sustainable solution.