Streamline Shipping Agencies Limited faces a £146,700 fine after a worker sustained severe, life-changing injuries when struck by a reversing forklift at its Aberdeen Harbour premises. The incident, which occurred on 26 September 2024, highlighted critical failings in the company’s pedestrian and vehicle separation protocols, as determined by a Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation. The company was also ordered to pay an £11,000 Victim Surcharge.
Inadequate traffic management led to severe leg fractures
The 43-year-old yard operative was on foot, in the process of unclipping the curtain side of an articulated trailer, when he was struck by the rear nearside wheel of a reversing forklift truck driven by a colleague. The impact pulled the worker to the ground, resulting in multiple fractures to his right foot and lower leg, alongside a de-gloving injury. He subsequently underwent two surgical procedures, including skin grafts, and has required counselling due to the profound impact of the incident. The worker has not yet been able to return to his duties.
An investigation by the HSE found that Streamline Shipping Agencies Limited had failed to organise its workplace effectively to ensure the safe circulation of both pedestrians and vehicles. Despite having a traffic management plan in place, the investigation revealed that it lacked the necessary detail to ensure safety during loading and unloading operations, which routinely took place concurrently within the same area. This oversight placed employees on foot at significant risk from moving vehicles.
HSE inspectors concluded that it was reasonably foreseeable that a worker on foot faced a serious risk of being struck by a moving vehicle, particularly when both the pedestrian and the forklift driver were focused on their respective tasks in close proximity. The company’s failure to implement robust measures to separate these activities directly contributed to the incident.
Following the investigation, an Improvement Notice was served on Streamline Shipping Agencies Limited. In response, the company made a series of improvements to its traffic management arrangements, which were subsequently deemed satisfactory by the HSE. Employers are legally obligated to ensure that traffic routes within their workplaces can be used without endangering workers. The HSE provides comprehensive guidance on managing vehicle movements in the workplace to help organisations meet these critical safety standards.
Streamline Shipping Agencies Limited, based at Streamline Terminal, Blaikies Quay, Aberdeen, AB11 5PU, pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 17(1) of the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992 and Section 33(1)(c) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. The sentencing took place at Aberdeen Sheriff Court on 22 May 2026.
HSE Inspector Nicky Smith commented on the case, stating: “This was a serious and wholly avoidable incident that has had a profound and lasting impact on this worker’s life. Employers have a legal duty to ensure that pedestrians and vehicles can move safely within their workplaces, particularly in busy areas where loading and unloading takes place. Having a traffic management plan is not enough if it does not contain the detail needed to protect workers on the ground. We will not hesitate to hold companies to account when they fall short of their obligations.”
This story was originally published by HSE Media Centre.
