Health & Safety

An accident investigation report by the Luxembourg authorities into the sinking of the vessel Bourbon Rhode with the tragic loss of four people on 26 September 2019 in the Atlantic Ocean has revealed a serious safety flaw of significance. The Luxembourg authorities have released an urgent safety bulletin as a consequence.

The Bourbon Rhode, an anchor handling tug, sank on September 26 in the Atlantic Ocean during a transit voyage from Las Palmas to Guyana.

The Bourbon Rhode was equipped with a system called shark jaws, which is installed in the aft Z-Drive compartment to secure chains or Continue reading “Crucial safety flaw is key finding of investigation into Bourbon Rhode sinking and fatalities”

With an increasing number of vessels returning to service following the easing of Covid-19 restrictions, Survitec is advising that ships’ life saving appliances are maintained according to their original service schedules in order to avoid delays.

Operators must have a valid safety certificate in place before their vessels can return to service after lockdown and while some flags have allowed three to five month extensions, there are concerns that there will be a backlog of equipment requiring service, which could render the vessel unable to return to service until certificates of compliance have been issued or extensions approved.

Survitec singles out the cruise and ferry segment, which is set to return to service in the fourth quarter, as posing a particular challenge Continue reading “Life saving appliances service schedules should be maintained warns Survitec”

Yves Vandenborn, of the Standard Club, asks why deaths in enclosed spaces are still happening on a regular basis. This article is reprinted from the July/August edition of Maritime Risk International.

Despite the well-known risks and the numerous publications and articles available on the topic, deaths in enclosed spaces continue to account for a significant proportion of deaths at sea to date. More drastic measures are required if the industry wishes to turn this tide.

The most recent in a long list of such incidents is the death of a chief officer who entered a fumigated hold to inspect the cargo condition. In this case, detailed instructions for the fumigation of the cargo were given to the vessel clearly stating that the fumigant was potentially dangerous. Even though the chief officer checked the hold atmosphere prior to entry, unfortunately, the gas detector he used was not capable of measuring the concentration of toxic phosphine gas. Further, the confined space entry was made using only a mask, absent was the correct self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA), leading to fatal consequences. Hence, it is vital to ensure that all possible risks are taken into consideration before one enters an enclosed space. Despite knowing the dangers and risks, and with the importance of taking appropriate precautions continually reiterated to seafarers, there remain incidents where these precautions have not been followed by the crew. A thorough investigation into these incidences, by industry bodies such as Intercargo and P&I Clubs, reveals that it is not always due to carelessness by the seafarer or a blatant disregard of the precautions. Some of these incidents include instances of ill attempted rescues of co-workers, where the crew in their urgent attempt to render aid to their co-worker, rush into enclosed spaces without proper care for themselves. These circumstances are understandably critical, but it is crucial that proper safety procedures are abided by, otherwise there will be multiple lives at risk and lead to more deaths in enclosed spaces. Continue reading “Why oh why oh why are deaths still occurring in enclosed spaces?”