A dock worker was killed on Monday when a crane boom landed on him as he helped load a container ship bound for Bermuda from New Jersey.

Robert Jennings, 30, suffered massive internal injuries in the accident involving the Bermuda Islander, which was due to set off for the Island from Salem City on Monday evening.

The freighter is now expected to leave New Jersey today and arrive in Hamilton on Saturday, two days later than normal.

Captain Al DellaFave, of New Jersey State Police, said the worker, from Salem, was killed just after 10.30 a.m. at the Mid-Atlantic Shipping and Stevedoring terminal.

He said Mr. Jennings was standing beneath the boom as he helped a crane operator load cargo onto the freighter. "He had been signalling the operator of the crane as to the position of the cargo to be loaded and then for some unknown reason the crane had a technical malfunction which caused the cargo and the boom to drop.

"The victim was struck by the boom causing fatal injuries."

Capt. DellaFave said the coroner had already labelled it an industrial accident and no inquest would be held. "It's an open and shut case for us. Now it's just a civil situation to determine liability."

It is not known which company Mr. Jennings was working for. No one at Mid-Atlantic Shipping and Stevedoring in Salem was available for comment.

Luis Andrade, from Salem shipping agent Sandpiper International, said: "Everything is still under investigation."

Stephen Paynter, from Hamilton shipping agent Meyer Freight, said he had received a report of a crane causing damage to the ship and stopping the loading operation.

He said another crane was due to be delivered to Salem yesterday afternoon and that loading was expected to resume last night and continue into this morning.

"We hope and expect she'll be able to depart for Bermuda sometime Wednesday afternoon for arrival in Hamilton on Saturday," he said. "Normally. it's Monday evening for Thursday morning arrival."

The Bermuda Islander, a Dutch-flagged vessel, is one of three container ships which journey between here and the east coast of the US every week, bringing vital supplies to the Island. Its crew is mainly from the Netherlands and the Philippines.

The boat hit the headlines in April when it suffered a toxic chemical spill on the trip from New Jersey to Bermuda. Firefighters wearing breathing masks hosed down the top deck of the boat at the docks in Hamilton after a 250-litre sulphuric acid drum leaked.

Days later, the owners of the vessel accepted responsibility for an oil spill into Delaware Bay in the US and pledged to finance recovery and clean-up work.