AN ITALIAN seaman who fell 12 metres to his death while painting the side of a ship in Falmouth's dry dock was using a safety harness rope which was described as not being fit to tie up a dog.

The comparison was made by Judge Jeffrey Rucker at Truro Crown Court during the prosecution of the Italian shipping company The Grimaldi Group based in Palermo. It was fined fined £75,000 plus £25,000 costs at Truro Crown Court on Thursday for breaching Health and Safety regulations.

The court heard that on September 9, 2004 Aniello d'Urzo aged 53, detached his safety harness in increasingly windy conditions while painting a crane and the rope supporting his bosun's chair parted.

He was working aboard the Repubblica di Roma, a vessel 216 metres in length capable of transporting more than 3,660 new cars plus containers, one of more than 30 worldwide owned by the Grimaldi Group.

Judge Jeffrey Rucker said that the equipment was obviously defective and should have been jettisoned to the rubbish bin a long time ago.

"Having looked at photographs of the rope being used I would not have used it to tie up my dog," he declared. "But it was used to hoist the man to a considerable height. It is remarkable that it was used as there was perfectly good, new equipment in the ship's store."

The Judge said that the deceased was a very experienced able seaman who routinely worked aloft, and he had in fact used the same equipment working on another crane shortly beforehand. Examination showed that every part of the equipment, and the method by which it was being used, was open to criticism.

"I cannot help commenting that ordinary common sense of anyone, let alone an able seaman, would have made one reluctant to use that equipment. It is remarkable since there was perfectly good, new equipment in the store in the same locker. Contributory negligence is a feature in the case."

The company had reacted to the tragic death instantly and comprehensively, and had paid the dead man's family £450,000 compensation even before they had submitted a claim.

No-one else in Falmouth Docks had been put in danger, the company had a good safety record and had taken immediate steps throughout their fleet to rectify the deficiencies.