TTSB releases the final investigation report of the Taiwan flag fishing vessel 'GUO TONG NO.3' involving a crew member losing his life off the coast of Kushiro Port, Hokkaido,[...]

Taiwan Transportation Safety Board (TTSB) released the final report on the investigation of the Taiwan flag fishing vessel "GUO TONG NO.3" involving a crew member's loss of his life off the coast of Kushiro Port, Hokkaido, Japan.

On October 3rd, 2023, a Taiwanese fishing vessel "GUO TONG NO.3", registration CT7-0642, with a gross tonnage of 1094, and 52 seafarers onboard conducted a saury fishing operation on the high seas 630 miles northeast of Kushiro Port, Japan. At 0120 hours (UTC+8), a Filipino crew was injured by the winch rollers on the starboard side during fishing operations. The Filipino crew received onboard emergency treatment for 2 hours but was unable to be saved and passed away, while the rest of the crew members were unharmed.

Following Taiwan's Transportation Occurrence Investigation Act and the Casualty Investigation Code of the International Maritime Organization, the TTSB is an independent transportation occurrence investigation agency and is responsible for conducting this occurrence investigation. The investigation team also included members from the Maritime and Port Bureau Ministry of Transportation and Communications, Fisheries Agency Ministry of Agriculture, Occupational Safety and Health Administration Ministry of Labor, and Guo Tong Fishery Co., LTD.

Based on the available factual information and analysis, it was concluded that a Filipino crew's left shoulder was caught in the winch rollers and seriously injured. He was unable to receive complete emergency treatment immediately at sea. As a result, the crew lost life on the way to the hospital. Totally 3 safety recommendations were issued to the relevant agencies as follows:

To Guo Tong Fishery Co., LTD.

1. Strengthen the safety promotion of onboard safety and health equipment to prevent crew members from being harmed by machinery, equipment, or fishing gear.

To Fisheries Agency, Ministry of Agriculture

1. Continue to study the types of fishing vessel accidents and crew casualties in our country, propose the " Safe Operation Guidelines for the crews of ocean-going fishery vessels", enhance the safety awareness of fishing vessel crews, and ensure fishing vessel navigation safety.

To Occupational Safety and Health Administration, Ministry of Labor

1. Guide the ocean-going fishery operators to faithfully comply with the Occupational Safety and Health Act, strengthen the content of the "Occupational Safety and Health Manual for Fishing Vessels", and implement the fishing vessel self-safety and health inspection checklist, to prevent crew members harm from operating on-board machinery, equipment or fishing gear.

This final report was reviewed and approved by the 61st TTSB Board Meeting on April 12, 2024.

The full final report is in Chinese only and available for download at the website: https://www.ttsb.gov.tw

Vivi Yang, Secretariat Office
Tel: +886-2-7727-6217
E-mail: [email protected]

Michael GUAN, Investigator-In-Charge
Marine Occurrence Investigation Division
Tel: +886-2-7727-6202
E-mail: [email protected]

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