While the bulk carrier EVER FELICITY was engaged in cargo handling operations berthed at the North Wharf of Hibarino in Ishinomaki Port, Ishinomaki City, Miyagi Prefecture, at around 07:35 on May 20, 2024, two stevedores lost consciousness and collapsed inside a cargo hold. Both of Stevedores were transported to a hospital; one was later pronounced dead, and the other sustained injuries.

This accident is more likely to have occurred during the loading of palm kernel shells (hereinafter referred to as “PKS”) at the North Wharf of Hibarino in Ishinomaki Port. Two stevedores entered No.1 CH without a prior working environment measurement. As a result, they inhaled air with an oxygen concentration lower and a carbon dioxide concentration higher than those of standard atmospheric conditions, lost consciousness, and collapsed onto the PKS.
The failure to conduct a working environment measurement in No.1 CH prior to entry is more likely to have resulted from the fact that the Sempoku Branch of Nippon Express Co., Ltd. did not prepare a safe work procedure manual—including a risk assessment covering the working environment inside the cargo hold—nor did it implement the legally mandated safety management measures for stevedores engaged in cargo hold operations.

Read the investigation report by Japan Transport Safety Board