Health & Safety

Special IIMS enclosed space entry course

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Of all those who board ships and enter enclosed spaces, the surveyors are most at risk. In many cases the spaces they are about to enter are an unknown entity, therefore they are totally dependent on the ship’s management team having these spaces properly prepared with a trained rescue party adequately equipped and standing by.

It is now a matter of record that ships have more incidents, accidents and fatalities involving enclosed spaces than any other component of the marine sector. These accidents and subsequent fatalities are predominantly the result of people entering, working in, or ironically attempting rescue from those spaces.

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MAIB releases a Safety Digest featuring 25 case studies and recommendations

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Upturned hull of the Cemfjord
Upturned hull of the Cemfjord

The UK MAIB has released a seventy page document, which is free to read regarding twenty five cases it has investigated in recent times.

This Safety Digest draws the attention of the marine community to some of the lessons arising from investigations into recent accidents and incidents. It contains information which has been determined up to the time of issue.

The sole purpose of the Safety Digest is to prevent similar accidents happening again. The content must necessarily be regarded as tentative and subject to alteration or Continue reading “MAIB releases a Safety Digest featuring 25 case studies and recommendations”

Debunking the myths of the safety management system

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A key requirement of the ISM code is an effective safety management system
A key requirement of the ISM code is an effective safety management system

Article written by Nippin Anand PhD MSc Master Mariner FNI

In January 2015, the pure car and truck carrier (PCTC) Hoegh Osaka developed a severe list on departing from Southampton, and was left stranded outside the port for more than 19 days. The official investigation revealed how decision making became the victim of production pressures. The vessel sailed from port without determining accurately the stability conditions upon completion of cargo. It was a routine practice to leave this task to be carried out once the vessel was out at sea; a practice that appears to be common within the PCTC industry. The weights of the cargoes declared at the time of loading were significantly different from the actual weights; a practice that extends even beyond the PCTC industry. The port captain never felt the need to involve the chief officer in the preparation of the stowage plan. The chief officer, on the other hand, did not feel he had the authority to question the pre-stowage plan.

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US Coast Guard issues a safety bulletin about vapor pressure relief valve testing on pneumatic systems

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Due to a mishap from improper testing of a vapor safety relief valve on a compressed air system, the Coast Guard Office of Commercial Vessel Compliance (CG-CVC) reminds all those concern of the risks and best practices in conducting or witnessing the testing of relief valves. While this information is based on testing compressed air systems using vapor relief valves, the guidance is also relevant to safety valves in other pressure systems, except boilers.

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Enclosed space deaths caused by semi-coke cargo says findings

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The Hong Kong Marine Department has issued an information note about a fatal accident that happened on a Hong Kong registered general cargo ship. Two stevedores and one bulldozer operator were found collapsed inside the stair trunk after they entered the enclosed space without following the proper procedures. The cause of death was due to the oxygen depletion atmosphere inside the stair trunk.

This incident draws the attention of the shipping industry to the dangers associated with the characteristics of semi-coke cargo. Parties concerned should treat the space inside stair trunk to cargo hold as an enclosed space and take appropriate safety precautionary measures before entering such space.

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Lack of Peggotty’s seaworthiness revealed in MAIB report after she collided with Petunia Seaways

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At 0450 (UTC+11) on 19 May 2016 the Danish registered ro-ro freight ferry Petunia Seaways and the historic motor launch Peggotty collided on the River Humber while in dense fog. As a result of the collision the motor launch suffered severe structural damage and began to take on water. The crew of a local pilot launch responded to Peggotty’s skipper’s VHF2 “Mayday” call and were able to reach the motor launch and rescue the skipper and the one other person on board before it sank. There were no injuries and no significant pollution.

Petunia Seaways’ bridge team remained unaware that the two vessels had collided until after they had left the river, when they were informed by VTS Humber.

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Naval architects should adhere to accepted ergonomic bridge design is one of the recommendations in the latest MAIB report

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On 3 December 2015, the Panama registered pure car carrier City of Rotterdam collided with the Danish registered ro-ro ferry Primula Seaways on the River Humber, UK. Both vessels were damaged but made their way to Immingham without assistance. There was no pollution and there were no serious injuries.

The MAIB investigation identified that the outbound City of Rotterdam had been set to the northern side of the navigable channel and into the path of the inbound ferry, but this had not been corrected because the pilot on board had become disoriented after looking through an off-axis Continue reading “Naval architects should adhere to accepted ergonomic bridge design is one of the recommendations in the latest MAIB report”

AkzoNobel is developing drones for enclosed space surveys

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Traditionally, enclosed space surveys have been carried out by crew, surveyors or independent inspectors. This acticity carries a significant risk and results in many casualties and fatal accidents annually. AkzoNobel, in conjunction with oil and gas tanker operator Barrier Group and DroneOps are developing a drone capable of remotely inspecting enclosed spaces, including ballast water tanks.

Michael Hindmarsh, Business Development Manager at AkzoNobel’s Marine Coatings business, explained: “Surveys of enclosed spaces and ballast water tanks are an essential part of routine maintenance and are increasingly critical for ship owners. Inspecting these areas thoroughly can require working at height, entering confined spaces and negotiating slippery surfaces that could be poorly lit, all of which are high-risk activities that the maritime industry is keen to address.”

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The Skuld P&I Club issues an advisory note on metal wire rope maintenance

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An advisory note on metal wire rope maintenance has been issued
An advisory note on metal wire rope maintenance has been issued

The correctly selected metal wire rope that has been appropriately operated and maintained, has not been damaged and has been regularly inspected should provide safe and trouble free service. However, it must be withdrawn from service before it becomes degraded to the point where its safety becomes compromised.

In order for the rope to work efficiently as part of a lifting or winching system, it needs to be of appropriate strength, construction and diameter. It’s very important that the rope not only has the required minimum braking strength, but is also of the correct size and construction. The diameter of the rope must be matched to the groove dimensions of the sheaves that it will be passing over and it must have appropriate flexibility, which is expressed in terms of its minimum bend radius, to suit the diameter of those sheaves.

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Transport Malta issues report into a fatal incident on ro-ro passenger ferry GALAXY

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Fatal incident on ro-ro passenger ferry GALAXY report published by Transport Malta
Fatal incident on ro-ro passenger ferry GALAXY report published by Transport Malta

Transport Malta has issued its safety investigation report into the mooring equipment failure and subsequent fatality of a shipyard worker on board the Cyprus registered ro-ro passenger ferry GALAXY in Valletta, Malta on 18 January 2016.

The incident
On 09 December 2015, MV Galaxy arrived in Malta under tow on a single, ballast, unmanned voyage from Piraeus, Greece to the Shipyard. Repairs commenced soon after, with the vessel afloat. On 08 January 2016, she was transferred to graving dock number 4 for underwater hull inspections and repairs. She was subsequently re-floated and pulled out of the dry-dock on the morning of 18 January 2016 at around 0900 to continue repairs afloat alongside Boat House Wharf.

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Failure of a Master Pear Link prompts BMA to issue a safety alert

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An example of the Master Pear Link that failed
An example of the Master Pear Link that failed

The Bahamas Maritime Authority (BMA) has issued a safety alert regarding the catastrophic failure of an HN330 320 IND Master Pear Link supplied by Survival Systems International UK Limited and the subsequent tender boat fall from its stowed position.

The incident
A tender boat onboard a cruise ship registered in the Commonwealth of the Bahamas suddenly fell from its stowed position into the water. The immediate cause was a catastrophic failure of the link that connects the fall block to the release gear/hook.

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IMCA issues a summary of 148 incidents released in 35 news flashes during 2016

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This is a brief summary of the incidents reported during 2016, highlighting some of the trends and points worthy of note. During 2016, IMCA published 148 incidents in 35 safety flashes. This is outstanding and IMCA members are to be thanked for sharing more incidents during 2016 than in any previous year.

One of the challenges IMCA faced in 2016 was maintaining the highest levels of impact and learning value of safety flash incidents, at a time when they were publishing a safety flash almost every week. For this reason, IMCA has not published every incident reported to them – they have omitted to publish 25 reported incidents. In general, IMCA has decided not to pass on incidents which were considered to have no new or little relevant lessons.

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