The Lyttelton Port Company has today been sentenced and fined following the death of one of its workers in 2022.

Don Grant, a stevedore for Lyttelton Port Company, was buried under coal on Anzac Day.

He was killed when coal was being moved from the port via a conveyor belt, and loaded onto the ship by a jet-slinger.

Maritime NZ Director Kirstie Hewlett said “This was a tragic incident that should never have occurred. “It is good Lyttelton Port Company took responsibility and pleaded guilty.”

At the time of the incident, Grant was working as a hatchman and was stationed on the deck of the ship. In this role, he was giving directions via radio to the operator of the ship-loader, as to where the flow of coal should go into the hold of the ship.

Grant was following LPC’s procedures, and was standing in the position he was trained to. “Our investigation found several safety failings by LPC in the management of risks for workers involved in the loading of coal” Hewlett said.

“Included in the range of issues identified by the investigation was the hatchmen being located within the potential firing line of the jet-slinger. This meant if it was re-positioned, or moved without their knowledge, they’d be at risk of being struck by the coal.

“There were a range of steps LPC should have taken to have provided a safe working environment. Loading coal is a known high-risk activity for LPC, and there were a lack of controls and policies in place around this specific activity.

There should have been more controls in place to reduce the potential of harm when coal was being loaded onto vessels at the port,” Hewlett said.

Since the incident, LPC has made changes to reduce the risk of hatchmen being struck by coal. These include, hatchmen standing in a designated safe zone, rules around when the coal can be poured to keep workers safe, and increasing CCTV overview.

“Since April 2022 there has been significant work across the ports sector to improve health and safety. While this doesn’t change what has happened. We want to assure those working on ports and their families that improving health and safety on New Zealand’s ports has been a major priority”  Hewlett said

A fine of $480,000 was imposed on LPC by Judge Keller, he adopted a starting point of $800,000 and came to the final amount after making adjustments.

The port was ordered to pay $35,000 in costs to Maritime NZ, and the Judge made an adverse publicity order requiring LPC to publish a statement about the incident.

Nothing was on its website as of 5.30PM on Wednesday.