The UK Marine and Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) has published its new Business Plan for 2020 to 2021.
Purpose
To improve marine safety by determining the circumstances and causes of marine casualties and promoting action to prevent reoccurrence
Vision
To be one of the most professional, effective, trustworthy and influential marine safety investigation Continue reading “MAIB business plan”
The Green Maritime Methanol consortium has successfully started a maritime engine test program trialing 100% methanol.
The consortium (members listed below) says new tests are being planned and two important new partners, Rijksrederij and Ghent University, have joined the consortium recently. Rijksrederij is the Dutch governmental organisation responsible for the management, manning and maintenance of more than 100 specialised vessels.
The fleet provides services for Customs, Coast Guard, Fisheries Research, and the Ministry of Infrastructure Continue reading “Green Maritime Methanol consortium has successfully started an engine test programme”
The UK Marine & Accident Branch (MAIB) has published a compendium of 25 cases it has investigated over the past months, with details of the incidents and their outcomes.
An extract from Chief Inspector of Marine Accidents, Andrew Moll’s introduction is as follows:
“I will start my opening comments by thanking Kathryn Neilson, Derek Cardno MNM and Paul Glatzel for the introductions they have written for the main sections of this edition of the MAIB’s Safety Digest. Their individual perspectives provide some insightful comments and, as ever, some useful pearls of wisdom.
Only a year ago, I wrote in my introduction about safe means of access, and that the MAIB had just started Continue reading “MAIB publish latest Safety Digest”
IMO Secretary-General, Kitack Lim, has issued a statement and broadcast a video (see below) on COVID-19, stressing the essential need to maintain commerce by sea and protect seafarers’ welfare.
The IMO secretary-General said, “The spread of the coronavirus has placed the entire world in an unprecedented situation. To slow the spread of the disease and mitigate its impacts, travel is being curtailed and borders are being closed. Transport hubs are being affected. Ports are being closed and ships denied entry.”
He added that, it is crucial that the flow of commerce by sea should not be unnecessarily disrupted. At the same time, the safety of life at Continue reading “IMO Secretary-General asks for pragmatic approach in response to COVID-19”
Children on the remote atoll of Fakaofo in Tokelau will soon be travelling to school in style on a new school boat built in Christchurch with support from the Pacific Maritime Safety Programme. The Director of Maritime NZ Keith Manch said the boat will provide safe, reliable transport for around 50 children who must cross a lagoon to get to school each day.
The design and construction of the vessel, by ICON Custom Boats in Christchurch, was jointly funded by the Government of Tokelau and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
The 12.5m school boat has been named Te Kaniva, a name describing the traditional Continue reading “School boat for children in remote Pacific atoll of Fakaofo launched”
Following the rumours that the Canal & River Trust (CRT) was considering a boating equivalent of the disabled blue badges (disability badge) seen in UK car windows, the Trust has now launched the scheme after developing it with the help of a series of meetings and an online Q&A session with disabled boaters.
A ‘Canal & River Trust Aware’ window disability badge (pictured) will be sent to all boaters with an ‘agreed equality adjustment’ – which usually means an agreement with CRT that the requirements to move (to conform with CRT’s interpretation of the legal requirement for boats without a home mooring to cruise) have been Continue reading “Disability badge scheme for boaters developed by CRT”
Transport Malta has published its investigation report on the total loss of power of the bulk carrier MV Leopold LD following the failure of the auxiliary engines and the emergency generator while underway in March 2019. The investigation identified lack of crew familiarization with the correct operation of the compensation damping tank.
MV Leopold LD was en route from the port of Saldanha Bay, South Africa, to Hamburg, Germany, carrying iron ore. On 14 March 2019, the only running Continue reading “MV Leopold LD: Total loss of power while underway linked to poor crew familiarization says Transport Malta report”
The International Maritime Organisation (IMO) has held the 7th session of the Sub-Committee on Ship Systems and Equipment (SSE), held from 2 – 6 March 2020. ICOMIA has released a report from the meeting and the main items of interest to the superyacht and leisure marine industry are as follows:
On board lifting appliances and winches (OLAW)
During this session, minor modifications were made to the SOLAS amendments in order to align with the draft guidelines which were agreed to at this session. The guidelines address the testing, operation and maintenance of lifting equipment and are broadly in line with the guidance contained in the Code of Safe Working Continue reading “IMO agrees amendments and changes to SOLAS guidelines on ship systems and equipment”
The International Institute of Marine Surveying (IIMS) is concerned for the health and well-being of its members as well as any marine surveyor, inspector or examiner travelling locally and/or internationally for work whilst Coronavirus (COVID-19) continues to spread globally.
Already there is evidence that the outbreak of Coronavirus (COVID-19) is having a profound effect on some areas of the marine surveying profession. But the picture is fluid, changing hourly and by the day, so you are advised to check the current status before you travel for work.
How Coronavirus (COVID-19) spreads
When someone who has COVID-19 coughs or exhales they release droplets of infected fluid. Most of these droplets fall on nearby surfaces and objects, such as desks, tables or telephones. It is possible to catch Coronavirus (COVID-19) by touching contaminated surfaces or objects and then touching the eyes, nose and/or mouth. If you are standing within one metre of a person with Coronavirus (COVID-19) it is possible to catch it by breathing in droplets coughed out or exhaled by them. In other words, Coronavirus (COVID-19) spreads in a similar way to flu. Most people infected with Coronavirus (COVID-19) experience mild symptoms and recover in several days. However, some go on to experience more serious illness and may require hospital care. Risk of serious illness appears to rise with age – so far, people over 40 seem to be more vulnerable than those under 40. People with weakened immune systems and people with conditions such as diabetes, heart and lung disease are also more vulnerable to serious illness.
Give yourself the best chance of avoiding Coronavirus (COVID-19)
You are advised to wash your hands more often than usual and for a minimum of 20 seconds using soap and hot water, particularly after coughing, sneezing and blowing your nose, or after being in public areas where other people are doing so. Use alcohol based hand sanitiser if that’s all you have access to.
To reduce the spread of germs when you cough or sneeze, cover your mouth and nose with a tissue, or your sleeve if you don’t have a tissue (but not your hands) and throw the tissue away immediately. Then wash your hands or use only an alcohol based hand sanitising gel.
Clean and disinfect regularly touched objects and surfaces using regular cleaning products to reduce the risk of passing the infection on to other people.
Before travelling:
– Make sure you have the latest information on areas where Coronavirus COVID-19 is spreading (see links below).
– Based on the latest information, you should assess and weight up the risks related to your trip.
– If you are at higher risk of serious illness (e.g. older or with medical conditions such as diabetes, heart and lung disease) avoid travelling to areas where Coronavirus COVID-19 is spreading.
– Consider travelling with small bottles (under 100 cl) of alcohol-based hand sanitiser rub, which facilitates regular hand-washing.
While travelling:
– Wash your hands regularly and stay at least one metre away from people who are coughing or sneezing.
– Ensure you know what to do and who to contact if you start to feel unwell while travelling.
– Ensure you comply with instructions from local authorities in the area you are travelling to. If you are told not to go somewhere you should comply with this and comply with any local restrictions on travel, movement or large gatherings.
When you return from travelling:
– Once you are back from an area where Coronavirus is active you should monitor yourself for symptoms for 14 days and take your temperature twice a day.
– If you develop even a mild cough or low grade fever (i.e. a temperature of 37.3 C or more) you should stay at home and self-isolate. This means avoiding close contact (one metre or nearer) with other people, including family members.
– You should also telephone your local healthcare provider or public health department, giving them details of your recent travel and symptoms.
Useful resources:
– World Health Organisation questions and answers page about Coronavirus (COVID-19)
– Myth-busters about Coronavirus (COVID-19)
– Worldometer update and latest virus statistics
– World Health Organisation Situation Reports (updated daily)
Travel and work safely, but remember it is a rapidly changing situation.
The UK MAIB has published a safety bulletin highlighting a potentially serious hazard associated with condensed aerosol firefighting suppressant particles. The warning comes after a fatal accident on the fishing vessel ‘Resurgam’ in November 2019 which is currently being investigated by the Branch.
On 15 November 2019, the UK registered fishing vessel Resurgam was in Newlyn, England undergoing maintenance. An engineer and an apprentice from the owner’s shore-based support team were working on the main engine in the engine room. Also working there were two contractors installing a new FirePro condensed aerosol fire extinguishing system.
New Zealand’s Transport Accident Investigation Commission (TAIC) has published its accident report on the contact of the jet boat ‘Discovery 2’ with Skippers Canyon wall while operating on the Shotover River in February 2019. Passengers onboard were injured. The incident highlighted that jet boating is a high-risk activity that leaves very little margin for error when navigating at high speeds in narrow channels and rivers.
On 23 February 2019, the commercial jet boat Discovery 2 was operating on the Shotover River in the vicinity of Skippers Canyon with nine passengers onboard. The boat was on its return leg when the driver was required to negotiate a series of bends in a section of the river about 10 metres wide. Approaching a left-hand bend, Continue reading “Jet boat accident stresses need of proper maintenance of mechanical equipment highlights report”
The Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) has published an incident report on a lifeboat release hook failure during a drill on the passenger ferry ‘Northern Ranger’ in October 2017, which led to minor injuries. The failure was linked to poor compliance with SOLAS and the operator’s safety manual.
On 11 October 2017, the starboard lifeboat of the passenger ferry Northern Ranger was undergoing operational testing at the dock in Nain, Newfoundland and Labrador, when its forward release hook failed.
While the crew members were lifting the lifeboat to the vessel’s embarkation deck, the forward release hook suddenly released and the Continue reading “SOLAS compliance poor – lifeboat release hook failure identified in TSB investigation report”
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