Ship doors 'left open' - reportOver 20 years after the Zeebrugge ferry disaster, a shocking report says that passenger ferry doors are left open at sea.
UK and European shipping organisations have been told to improve safety measures after a report found that watertight doors on a passenger ferry were 'routinely left open at sea'.
The calls came after an investigation carried out by the UK's Marine Accident Investigation Branch into an incident involving an engine room fitter on the Eurovoyager ferry found that 'onboard procedures for the operation of watertight doors were poorly promulgated and were not monitored or enforced'.
'It was the usual practice on board for the watertight doors to be in local control. However, VDR (voyage data recorder) data showed that many of the doors were routinely left open at sea, which potentially compromised the vessel's watertight integrity,' the report said.
The findings were presented to the Department for Transport and the Maritime and Coastguard Agency as well as the Belgian and Cypriot shipping authorities in a bid to clamp down on working practices and safety measures.
Copyright © Press Association 2009
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