Near the end of the regular workday on 10 March 2025, crewmembers on board the Republic of the Marshall Islandsregistered AMPHITRITE, managed by Diana Shipping Services S.A. (the “Company”), were attempting to use a hydraulic jack to free the ship’s port anchor, which was stuck in the port side hawse pipe. Two prior attempts, the first using mooring lines on 9 March 2025 and the second using a hydraulic jack on the morning of 10 March 2025, were unsuccessful. At the time, the ship was underway on the Java Sea en route to Singapore. The anchor was secured using the windlass brake, chain stopper, and lashings. The existing and forecasted weather along the ship’s planned route was good.
For the third attempt to free the anchor, the ship’s Fitter and Bosun climbed down into the port side hawse pipe to put the hydraulic jack in place. The anchor moved suddenly as the Fitter and Bosun were climbing out of the hawse pipe after putting the jack in place. The Bosun, whose abdomen and legs were caught between the anchor chain and the hawse pipe, was seriously injured. Crewmembers were able to remove him from the hawse pipe by using a chain fall with wire sling to lift the anchor chain off of his abdomen and legs. The Fitter, whose torso was pinned between the anchor shank and the hawse pipe, suffered fatal injuries. He was later removed from the hawse pipe with the assistance of shore-based emergency response personnel.