March 31, 2011
Editor’s Note: This letter comes to us from a known captain who asked that neither his name nor boat name be printed. We are honoring his request in the interest of sharing this story.
We were under way in big seas and our stew went to the walk-in cooler to get something. She did not turn the light on, and the door slammed shut behind her. The emergency door release was working but it is stiff and she was not able to open it.
It was early in the morning and she did not have a radio with her and did not tell the bridge what she was doing. She was locked in there for more than an hour.
Luckily, she had her iPhone and we have Internet so she Facebooked a friend in Thailand to call her sister in the Philippines to call the boat. She is fine now and we have a learned a few things.
At sea always be ready for a door to slam shut. Carry your radio at all times.
Name withheld on request
Comments
Reason for being trapped
FCM makes a good point. I spoke with the captain and he mentioned that the stew was not strong enough to open the door from the inside. In an effort not to alter his letter too much, we added the sentence that appears above, just that the mechanism was working but she wasn't able to open it.
How is that possible
Walk in refrigerators and freezers are supposed to have a an internal latch to realize the door, I've even seen panic buttons fitted.
After this incident was the door mechanism checked for proper design and operation?
Thank god she was not trapped for longer, thats all I can say.