By John Showalter

ILWU Coast Safety Committee Chairman John Castanho traveled to Savannah, Georgia on Oct. 5 to learn more about the vessel where Local 10 longshoreman Reginald Ross died of injuries while loading containers at the Port of Oakland on Sept. 24, 2007.

The accident remains under investigation by the Federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and the United States Coast Guard (USCG).

The Stuttgart Express left the Port of Oakland just seven hours after Ross was fatally injured aboard the ship. Despite many inquiries from the ILWU, it remains unclear why the vessel was allowed to leave port so soon after the fatal accident, and whether proper reporting and authorization procedures were followed by the ship and officials involved.

Federal regulations require OSHA to be notified when shipboard accidents involving longshore workers involve more than basic first aid. The ILWU has been told that Federal OSHA officials were not notified immediately after the accident. It also remains unclear whether the Coast Guard was properly notified, if they conducted the necessary interviews and investigation, and if the ship was authorized to leave the Port of Oakland that evening.

After the union learned that the vessel left Oakland on Sept. 24, Local 10 President Tommy Clark sent an email to the captain of the Stuttgart Express requesting his further cooperation with the union and authorities involved with the investigation. The union tracked the ship’s route down the west coast, through the Panama Canal, and finally to Savannah, Georgia, where ILWU Coast Safety Committee Chair John Castanho learned the ship was scheduled to make its next call. In Savannah, Castanho met with OSHA’s Assistant Area Director Kurt Petermeyer and Compliance Officer John Voss. The three men attempted to board the ship, but Castanho was refused entry by an attorney for Hapag-Lloyd, who said the union was barred from entering the ship without written consent from the owners. OSHA officials, however, were able to board the ship. Details of their interviews with ship’s crew are expected in a forthcoming report concerning the fatal accident.  

While in Savannah, Castanho also met with Safety Director Sam Stewart of the International Longshoremen’s Association Local 1414, and with Lieutenant Brian McCaul of the USCG’s Marine Safety Unit. The ILA Safety Director and Castanho spoke with local union dockworkers who were preparing to load and unload the Stuttgart Express. Workers were told about the fatality in Oakland, and encouraged to use extra caution while working on the ship. The Coast Guard also boarded the ship and conducted a round of interviews with two officers and a crewmember. The Coast Guard is expected to issue its own report about the fatal accident.

Castanho says the union will continue to assist Federal OSHA and the Coast Guard in any capacity requested regarding the ongoing investigation.