MAIB: Pilot who fell and died trying to board cargo ship was legally drunk

The pilot, who died after falling between a cargo vessel and pilot boat last October, had a blood alcohol level of 0.12 percent, well above the United Kingdom’s .08 percent blood alcohol driving limit, according to the Marine Accident Investigation Branch.    A Port of London Authority sea pilot who was killed after he fell between a cargo vessel and pilot boat last October was inebriated enough that alcohol consumption likely contributed to his fall, according to a newly released report from the UK government’s Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB).
   According to an MAIB report released Oct. 12, pilot Gordon Coates was process of boarding the 1993-built, Bahamas-flagged, 4,148-deadweight-ton (dwt) general cargo vessel Sunmi from the pilot cutter Patrol when he fell, was crushed and died at the scene on the Thames River around 6:12 p.m. local time on Oct. 5, 2016.
   Coates’ blood contained 122 milligrams of alcohol per 100 milliliters of blood about two hours after reporting for duty, an autopsy found. In the UK, the limit for driving under the influence is 80 milligrams of alcohol per 100 milliliters of blood. HIs blood alcohol level of 0.12 percent was well above the .08 percent blood alcohol driving limit in both the UK and United States.
   “It is likely that the consumption of alcohol contributed to his fall,” the MAIB’s report stated.
   In addition to the pilot’s inebriation, other safety issues revealed by the report were that the designated pilot boarding station on board the Sunmi was not marked, and the deck gate should not have been opened in preparation for the transfer, because it was “unsuitable.”
   The MAIB suggested in its report that vessel owner Misje Bulk AS ensure that the designated pilot boarding areas on the Sunmi are marked and that pilot boarding operations are “overseen by a responsible officer.”