DOT and Ferry Operator Fined $82,500 for Cable Incident

Three workers were loosening nuts securing a cable used by a cable ferry when the cable suddenly started whipping back and forth. It struck and injured two workers. The Department of Transportation, ferry operating company and a marine engineer were charged with 17 OHS violations. The DOT and ferry company pleaded guilty and the charges against the engineer were stayed. The court fined the ferry operator $7,500 for failing to report the incident. As to the DOT, the court noted that there should have been a safe work procedure for loosening the clamps on a cable that was still under pressure. In addition, the workers weren’t wearing PPE and hadn’t been properly instructed or supervised. So the court imposed a $75,000 fine on it [R. v. GNWT (DOT) and Grizzly Marine Services Ltd., [2014] NWTTC 17 (CanLII), June 27, 2014].