A bulk carrier loaded with a cargo of coal was at anchor. Deck crew were tasked with greasing the dog handles of the hold access booby hatches. Some of the handles were rusted shut and needed to be disassembled before they could be greased.
Four crew members were working to free the dog handles at one of the booby hatches. The booby hatch was open while they were doing this, and a disassembled dog handle fell down the hatch. One man climbed down to retrieve it. As he climbed back up with the...