On Monday 10 June, a fatal accident happened in the port of Ancona, when a mooring line broke and struck a shipping agent. The serious accident occurred at quay 23 of the new dock where container ships dock. A 34-year-old shipping agent, father of two children and employee of an agency in Ancona, died after being hit in the neck by a mooring rope made of synthetic fibre used to secure the ships at the quay, which suddenly broke. The agent was witnessing the operations of loading and unloading the goods from a container ship. Investigations are being carried out to reconstruct the tragedy and to understand if the mooring procedure had already been completed. The emergency medical service and the Yellow Cross health officials intervened, but were only able to ascertain the death of the port worker.

Capt. Stein Inge Dahn, President of the European Maritime Pilots’ Association (EMPA), offered his sincere condolences, on behalf of EMPA: “We are deeply saddened to hear of this terrible loss and extend our heartfelt condolences to his family, friends and colleagues during this difficult time.”

(Photo credit: Indy Pauwels)