A firm has been fined £322,500 after a worker was killed when heavy steel tubes fell during an unloading operation in Aberdeen.

Married father-of-two Albert Ross, 67, died after being struck by one of the tubes on the Iberian Bulker vessel at Dunnottar Quay in July 2023.

Sea-Cargo Aberdeen Ltd admitted failing to have a safe system in work in place, when the fatal accident happened.

At Aberdeen Sheriff Court, it was fined £300,000 along with a £22,500 victim surcharge, a penalty which goes into a central fund.

Fiscal Andrew Hanton, for the Crown, said the cargo vessel had arrived from Japan with the steel tubes as cargo.

He said Ross was acting as a radio operator for a crane driver.

However, at one stage during lifting operations, the pipes tilted, and some slid off the slings they were on and fell back.

Ross - who was known as Abbey - was beneath, and was struck by one of them.

Defence counsel Murdo MacLeod KC expressed the company's "sincere regret" and offered condolences to the family and friends of the employee who died.

He said the company had an otherwise "unblemished" record, and described it as an isolated one-off incident, not a "reckless or cavalier" attitude to health and safety.

"No fine can put a value on the life of Mr Ross because that is an impossible exercise," he said.

He said it was the 66th lift of the day in question and the others were uneventful.

Sheriff William Summers said the operation had involved "very heavy" steel tubes.

He said he had to balance the level of culpability and harm caused with the financial position of the company when coming to a figure for the fine.

He said the £300,000 fine would have been £450,000 but for the early plea.

The company was given 12 months to pay the fine, in instalments.