Darwin crane crash

Union calls for crane safety audit after yesterdays crane crash in Darwin.

Lady luck was once again on the side of workers at Darwin's East Arm Port when two cranes collided in heavy winds.

MUA Stevedoring Members had only left for smoko 10 minutes before the incident.

"They were working in the crane that was hit and would have been directly under the carnage," said MUA Organiser Thomas Mayor.

"It was lucky no one was killed."

This latest near miss at Patrick Bulk and General comes as the union is locked in EBA talks with the company over the poor safety regime, casualisation and conditions and the company's B&G wharves nationwide.  It also comes as the union is in talks with the government and employers about regulating the wharves and training to avoid further fatalities and serious incidents - three waterside workers were killed in job accidents last year alone.

Meanwhile the Maritime Union wants full testing of equipment at East Arm Port to make sure the cause of yesterday's crane crash is dealt with. In high winds two cranes collided ... one of them snapped and crashed on to a truck.

Thomas Mayor attended the incident scene to support port workers who work with the runaway crane. He met with Port Management and the NT Worksafe Officers to ensure that they understood the union would not accept anything other than a thorough investigation that does not unfairly implicate workers for the incident.

"The crash raises serious questions about safety at the port," he told ABC news.

"Our members are concerned that there's been no structural damage that could affect (the crane's) integrity as they operate it and one of the main concerns for us is to see that the crane is tested thoroughly before any guys go operating that equipment again."

See also ABC NEWS Union demands crash crane test