It's not a stupid question. Yes, that may be the case. Topside is a dangerous place that isn't built to be manned, despite the presence of non-skid and safety tracks.
The topside linehandlers all wear safety harnesses that include a 4' long tether with an additional 4' of breakaway strap that acts as a shock absorber. All that is attached to a t-shaped safety track in the deck with a C-shaped ring called a deck crawler.
Here's a slightly less incoherent version of the story from CNN:
LONDON, England (Reuters) -- Two U.S. sailors were killed after falling overboard from a nuclear-powered submarine as it left the southern English port of Plymouth on Friday, the U.S. Navy said.
Two other sailors who fell overboard from the USS Minneapolis-St. Paul suffered minor injuries but were later released from hospital, a spokesman for the U.S. Navy's 6th fleet in Italy said.
The Navy said the cause of the accident was under investigation.
The Minneapolis-St. Paul had spent a week in port at Plymouth and was leaving the Devonport naval base when the accident happened.
Sixth fleet spokesman Lieutenant Chris Servello said the four sailors were rescued by fellow crew members and British authorities after falling overboard and were taken to a local hospital, where two of them were pronounced dead.
The Navy was not releasing the names of the dead sailors pending notification of next of kin, he said.
The submarine remained at sea after the accident, he said.
The Minneapolis-St. Paul has its home port at Norfolk, Virginia.
As an ELT, I always enjoyed taking topside swipes when we returned to port. With the safety harness and the short tether, there was no chance of falling into the water. I recall one summer evening, going under the Golden Gate Bridge with the water as smooth as glass and the boat slipping silently along at low speed. It's one of those pictures that stays in your head forever.
Back in the 70s, the CO of the USS Plunger was washed overboard and lost at sea while standing on the bridge. That class of boat had a little short sail so they were too close to the water. They turned around and came right back into port. I was on one of the Skipjack class boats with the big tall sail. I recall we were all shocked at hearing that news.