When shipyards fail to put proper health and safety measures in place, it can lead to tragic and costly results.

In 2023, in the northeast of England, a shipyard worker died when he fell from scaffolding, ending with a £200,000 (€231,000) fine – plus costs – to the shipyard and the message that even dockside vessel work needs full edge protection and planning. Commenting on the case, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) said falls from height was still one of the biggest causes of workplace fatalities in the marine sector.

In their latest column for Maritime Journal, Ocean Legal’s Jennie Harris and Lucy Goff outline the risks and the processes needed to minimise them.