by Martin Jefferies

Watertight doors on a Ramsgate-Ostend passenger ferry were "routinely left open at sea", according to a critical report into an accident on board the vessel last year.

The Marine Accident Investigation Board (MAIB) published its findings on Tuesday after an incident on November 3, 2008, during which a foreign fitter was crushed in a steel watertight door.

It happened on board Transeuropa Ferries' Eurovoyager, as the vessel approached the Port of Ramsgate.

The worker, who was unconscious when his colleagues found him, was airlifted to hospital and treated for serious injuries.

The door left an imprint on the right side of his neck and his left knee. He also dislocated a shoulder and lost neurological functions in his left leg.

The Croatian was expected to be off work for more than six months and has no memory of the accident.

The MAIB report reveals that watertight doors on board the Eurovoyager were "routinely left open at sea".

It says the crew did not always follow "recommended procedure for passing through the vessel’s power-operated watertight doors", which it says are often perceived as "excessive and time-consuming".

In addition, the watertight door in which the fitter became trapped closed three times faster than International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) guidelines allow.

The door was also operating in 'remote' mode, forcing all doors to close automatically. Although individual doors could still be opened 'locally', they closed automatically when the handles were released.

Immediately after the incident, Transeuropa Ferries sent a circular to all crew, reminding them of correct safety procedures and ordering staff to keep watertight doors closed and in local mode while at sea.

An on board training manual has been updated and all watertight doors now close in line with SOLAS requirements.