Mr Neil Rooney, a 36-year-old employee of Scruttons (NI) Limited, was assisting in the offloading of coal from a ship at the Port, using equipment hired to them by Belfast Harbour Commissioners. The equipment included a large, raised transfer hopper used to temporarily store the coal prior to discharge into lorry trailers parked underneath.
Mr Rooney was working within the operator’s cabin on the transfer hopper when the hopper support structure failed and capsized as coal was being discharged into the hopper. Mr Rooney was buried under the hopper and coal. There was approximately 118 tonnes of coal in the hopper when it failed. Mr Rooney died at the scene as a result of the injuries sustained during the incident.
Joe O’Neill, chief executive of Belfast Harbour, said the tragic death of Mr. Neil Rooney in 2017 has had a profound and lasting impact on many, including the Belfast Harbour Community.
He continued: “We are deeply sorry and apologise to his partner, children, wider family, friends and colleagues. Our thoughts continue to be with them.
“It is with regret and remorse that we admit to failings that contributed to Mr. Rooney’s death, in particular the maintenance and use of our equipment at the time. We unreservedly accept the fine levied by the Court.
“We have co-operated fully with the investigation into the accident and will continue to work closely with the Health and Safety Executive for Northern Ireland (HSENI).
“Belfast Harbour’s primary goal has always been to create and maintain a positive safety culture across all our activities. Since the accident, we have strengthened our safety processes and protocols even further. We are continually assessing, challenging, and improving our Health and Safety performance, with a relentless focus on accident prevention.
“The safety and wellbeing of everyone who lives, visits and works within Belfast Harbour Estate continues to be our highest priority. We are working hard to be one of the safest ports in the world, but foremost today, our thoughts are with Mr. Rooney’s family.”
Prosecutors in the PPS’s Fraud & Departmental Section worked closely with the Health and Safety Executive for Northern Ireland and the PSNI to build a robust prosecution case in relation to the tragic incident.
Speaking after the hearing, HSENI Inspector Kevin Campbell said: “In this tragic case there was a failure to inspect, examine and maintain the hopper to ensure that it was safe to use.
“It is vital that all duty holders have a robust inspection and planned maintenance regime for their equipment, taking account of the conditions in which the equipment is used.
“Where defects are identified, equipment must be taken out of service until they are made safe. Where modifications are made, proper assessments and calculations must be made to ensure that the structure is capable of supporting the intended weights and forces that the plant will be subjected to.”
The investigation found that the original hopper was manufactured in the mid 1980’s, and had undergone modifications over the years to increase its working capacity. The investigation revealed that there was a lack of adequate examinations made to the hopper to identify any weaknesses in the support structure, as well as inadequate proactive inspections to ensure that the hopper was safe to use.
The hopper was designed with a capacity of 87m3 when originally manufactured, with subsequent modifications increasing the hopper capacity to 100m3. Belfast Harbour Commissioners failed to calculate whether the original support structure could support the increased sized hopper, and weight capacity.
It was also identified that safety margins factored into the original design were lost over its working life which reduced the strength of the structure. Similar hoppers in use at the Port were also observed to be in poor structural condition and were subsequently decommissioned.
Further information on the inspection and maintenance of work equipment can be found on HSENI’s website www.hseni.gov.uk/articles/safe-maintenance
