Crushed WA crew member 'in dangerous spot'

A 39-year-old man who was fatally crushed on an oil rig support vessel off WA's Pilbara coast last year was standing in a dangerous spot in treacherous weather, the transport safety watchdog has found.

Crew member Andrew Kelly was standing near unsecured containers on the Skandi Pacific in the early hours of July 14 when two big waves swept over the open stern and the containers shifted, trapping him against chains and a skip.

The vessel had earlier been midway through transferring cargo to the oil rig when worsening weather conditions forced the crew to stop and move 30 metres away, the Australian Transport Safety Bureau noted in its final report handed down on Wednesday.

Crew members had just slackened chains around the containers as they worked to secure them better when Mr Kelly was crushed.

The ATSB said the Skandi Pacific's safety management procedures for doing such work in rough conditions were inadequate, with no clearly defined weather limits.

"Further, there were no clearly defined limits for excessive water on deck that necessitated stopping operations, leaving individuals to make difficult, and necessarily subjective, decisions about whether or not to stop work," the ATSB said.

It said the Skandi Pacific's managers had improved procedures to prevent such accidents occurring again, but action taken had only partly addressed concerns with open stern vessels, so the ATSB issued a recommendation that they undertake further work.

Mr Kelly left behind a wife and four children, all aged under 10, including a six-month-old baby.