M/Y Baton Rouge Crew Death Confirmed by MAIB Report

The Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) released their accident report on a fatality of the chief engineer on board M/Y Baton Rouge at Falmouth Harbour, Antigua, on Feb. 23, 2024. The investigation confirmed reports that Chief Engineer Roy Temme died due to electrocution. Temme was a 47-year-old British national.

The report states that Temme was replacing a damper actuator which was situated in a ventilation overpressure duct compartment when he was electrocuted. Despite efforts to resuscitate him, his heat could not be restarted, and he was pronounced dead later that morning.

MAIB’s found several safety issues that led to Temme’s death, including no isolation of the electric supply before commencing the actuator replacement, no permit to work (PTW) for electrical maintenance in place, and an onboard safety management system that was not aligned to industry guidelines of an enclosed space, which led to the crew not following enclosed space working and entry procedures.

“Since the accident the yacht’s manager, Nigel Burgess Limited, has updated its permit to work guidance for electrical systems; revised the enclosed space definition in the safety management systems of vessels under its management; and promulgated fleet guidance on the changes to the enclosed space definition, permits to work and the need for on board risk controls, training and drills,” the report stated.

The report’s conclusions found that Temme was electrocuted because he came into contact with live 230VAC conductors while working on the ventilation damper electric circuit, but the reason why he came into contact with the live conductors is unknown. MAIB also found that the PTW system was not used to identify the hazards associated with the repair task, likely due to the crew not recognizing the work area as an enclosed space. No rescue plan had been put in place to recover a person from the overpressure duct compartment either.

In view of the actions already taken after the incident, the MAIB had no recommendations. Actions taken by Nigel Burgess Limited after the incident included amending its PTW for electrical work to provide greater emphasis on the risk of electrical shock on vessels, necessary precautions to be taken before working on electrical equipment, and the need to avoid working on live electrical systems when possible. Other actions included updating its safety management manual to provide clearer qualification as to when a PTW is required, revising the company’s risk assessments and standard operational procedures to make sure the definition of enclosed spaces is emphasized, and more.