Feds Issue $165K Fine for Stamford Crane Collapse

By Michael Dinan

A Port Chester-based marine construction contractor faces $165,200 in fines from federal authorities who say the collapse of a crane at a Stamford marina this summer could have been prevented by basic and necessary safety precautions.

On May 22, the 80-foot boom of a barge-mounted crane owned by Concavage Marine Construction Co. fell over backward at Avalon Bay Marina in Stamford while installing pilings, “bouncing off the stays of a sailboat and landing on top of a yacht,” according to a press release published by the Bridgeport Area Office of the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

It wouldn’t have happened if the crane had boom stops and a boom hoist limiting device, OSHA says.

Robert Kowalski, director of the Bridgeport OSHA office, said the crane shouldn’t have been operating at all.

“Not only did it lack required safety devices, it had not been inspected for these and other defects that should have been corrected before the crane began operating,” Kowalski said. “The employer deliberately failed to adhere to basic crane safety standards, putting at risk the lives of its employees and anyone else in the vicinity.”

The full list of citations against Concavage, including failure to keep up inspections or ensure that equipment was functional, can be seen here. Information on barge safety and the OSHA standard governing work on floating cranes/derricks and land cranes/derricks on barges is available here and here.