Belfast Harbour Commissioners fined £110k over worker's death

Neil Rooney was in his 30s and a father of two

Belfast Harbour Commissioners has been fined £110,000 over a health and safety breach linked to the death of a father of two.

Neil Rooney, who was in his 30s, from Ballyhornan in County Down, was fatally injured when he became trapped in machinery at Stormont Wharf in the harbour estate in March 2017.

BHC admitted a charge of failing to ensure the health and safety of a non-employee.

Belfast Crown Court was told that Mr Rooney had been off-loading a cargo of coal from a bulk cargo ship berthed at the wharf.

The company Mr Rooney worked for was contractually obliged to use the harbour's equipment.

Mr Rooney was operating a hopper - a piece of industrial equipment which was being used to discharge coal into lorries.

On the morning of his death the hopper collapsed and fell across a lorry trailer being filled with coal.

He became trapped in the underside operator cabin and the subsequent rescue operation was hampered by the weight of both the collapsed hopper and the coal.

Mr Rooney died of crush asphyxia.

BHC's plea to the health and safety breach was on the grounds that the hopper was unsafe and that adequate inspections, maintenance and examinations on it were not carried out.

'Loved his family'

The court heard Neil Rooney, left, "loved his job, his farm and most of all he loved his family"

In addition, the hopper was in a poor structural condition and there was a failure by BHC to properly assess this, and a failure to properly ensure overfilling did not occur.

The judge said those who knew and loved Mr Rooney "will grieve for the rest of their lives and nothing can fill that void.

"He loved his job, his farm and most of all he loved his family. He was a man who would do anything for anybody at any time, night or day," she added.

'Deeply sorry'

Belfast Harbour Commissioners said they unreservedly accepted the fine

In a statement issued after the fine was imposed, BHC's chief executive Joe O'Neill said: "The tragic death of Mr Neil Rooney in 2017 has had a profound and lasting impact on many, including the Belfast Harbour Community.

"We are deeply sorry and apologise to his partner, children, wider family, friends and colleagues. Our thoughts continue to be with them.

"It is with regret and remorse that we admit to failings that contributed to Mr Rooney's death, in particular the maintenance and use of our equipment at the time.

"We unreservedly accept the fine levied by the court."

He said they had co-operated fully with the investigation.

"Since the accident, we have strengthened our safety processes and protocols even further," he added.

"We are continually assessing, challenging, and improving our health and safety performance, with a relentless focus on accident prevention."

Kevin Campbell of the Health and Safety Executive said: "In this tragic case there was a failure to inspect, examine and maintain the hopper to ensure that it was safe to use.

"It is vital that all duty holders have a robust inspection and planned maintenance regime for their equipment, taking account of the conditions in which the equipment is used."