Loss Prevention

China Maritime Safety Administration launches action plan to prevent equipment failure

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China Maritime Safety Administration launches action plan
China Maritime Safety Administration launches action plan

The China Maritime Safety Administration has issued a notice announcing a special safety inspection period to prevent the failure of ships’ mechanical and electrical equipment from 7 April 2024 until 31 October 2024. Lloyd’s Register issued an article to provide details about this period of extra scrutiny for ships entering Chinese ports and shipyards, advising foreign classification societies in China to enhance and improve:
– Survey, inspection and testing during new construction
– Survey of conversion, renewal or repair of mechanical and Continue reading “China Maritime Safety Administration launches action plan to prevent equipment failure”

NTSB Investigation: Flooding and sinking of towed cargo vessel Carib Trader II

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Image credit: Gordon Dalzell, shipspotting.com
Image credit: Gordon Dalzell, shipspotting.com

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has released an investigation report on an incident where the towed cargo vessel Carib Trader II flooded and sunk in March 2022 in the Bahamas.

The Incident

​On March 6, 2022, about 1620 local time, near the Magallanes Bank, about 25 miles northwest of Santo Domingo Cay, Bahamas, the uncrewed general cargo vessel Carib Trader II took on water and sank while being towed by the towing vessel Capt. Beau, which had five crewmembers aboard. A small debris field was reported. There were no injuries. Damage to the vessel was estimated at $752,700. Continue reading “NTSB Investigation: Flooding and sinking of towed cargo vessel Carib Trader II”

MV Mona fire: Transport Malta issues the report

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MV Mona was transiting the Aegean Sea when a fire broke out in the engine room
MV Mona was transiting the Aegean Sea when a fire broke out in the engine room

Transport Malta has published an investigation report about an incident that took place on 14 September 2022. The vessel MV Mona was transiting the Aegean Sea, en route to a dry dock in Tuzla, Türkiye, when a fire broke out in the engine-room. Flames were observed rising above the main engine’s cylinder unit no. 2.

On 11 September 2022, MV Mona departed in ballast condition from the port of Ashdod, Israel, bound for a scheduled dry docking in Tuzla, Türkiye. On 14 September, the vessel was transiting the Aegean Sea, between the Greek islands, and was expected to arrive at Tuzla the next day. The voyage had been uneventful until around 1715 Continue reading “MV Mona fire: Transport Malta issues the report”

Addressing the surge in engine room fires on container ships

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statistics show that between 2019 and 2021, there was a sharp increase in engine room fires on container ships.
statistics show that between 2019 and 2021, there was a sharp increase in engine room fires on container ships.

According to DNV, statistics show that between 2019 and 2021, there was a sharp increase in engine room fires on container ships. Preliminary data gathered from public sources indicate that this trend applies to the global fleet – and that for 2022 to 2023, the number of engine room fires remains at the same level as in 2021.

The increase in engine room fires on container ships cannot be seen separately from the increasing number of findings related to dirty engine rooms, missing insulation and screening of oil piping being reported by class surveyors. This is also reflected in the number of PSC detentions related to these issues. Continue reading “Addressing the surge in engine room fires on container ships”

Risk Focus: Tugs and Barges by the UK P&I Club

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Risk Focus Tugs and Barges published by UK P&I
Risk Focus Tugs and Barges published by UK P&I

The UK P&I Club has published a Risk Focus which is intended to promote best practice covering vessel owners and operators of tugs and barges.

Over 80% of tug claims concern injury or illness of personnel. Other claim types include collision, cargo, pollution, damage to fixed or floating objects, and fines – but the number of those claims is very small compared with personnel injury/illness claims. In terms of the dollar cost of claims, the picture is very similar – personnel claims account for 79% of the value of claims. The total cost of pollution incidents has proven to be more costly than incidents of collision, damage to fixed or floating objects, Continue reading “Risk Focus: Tugs and Barges by the UK P&I Club”

Report on the sinking of the cargo vessel Bjugnfjord due to partially liquefied soil

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Cargo displacement of 1,900 tonnes of partially liquefied soil was, according to the Norwegian Safety Investigation Authority’s (NSIA) assessment, the cause why the bulk carrier MS Bjugnfjord sank on its way out of the Kattegat. According to the NSIA investigation, it is in practice difficult to have an overview of the characteristics of different masses in these type of freight assignments.

NSIA recommends the Norwegian Maritime Authority to investigate the extent of the problem and take relevant measures to ensure that the provisions in the current regulations Continue reading “Report on the sinking of the cargo vessel Bjugnfjord due to partially liquefied soil”

MGN 276 (M+F): Fire protection – maintenance of portable fire extinguishers updated

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Portable fire extinguishers are pressure containers that require correct maintenance. The marine environment can be harsh and special care is needed to ensure long-term safe operation.

Fatalities have previously occurred due to people operating marine portable fire extinguishers which have been attributed to corrosion of the extinguisher bases. The structure in these cases was weakened to such an extent that the extinguishers exploded when activated.

The MCA has now published MGN 276 (M+F) Amendment 1: Fire protection – maintenance of portable fire extinguishers. Continue reading “MGN 276 (M+F): Fire protection – maintenance of portable fire extinguishers updated”

UK P&I Club releases video on correctly securing fasteners after an overhaul

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Labelled diagram of a fastener The Loss Prevention team at the UK P&I Club has produced its latest ‘Inside Ship’ animated training video, focused on correctly securing fasteners to prevent equipment failures during an overhaul.

The proper installation of fasteners is essential to avoiding preventable engine room incidents. Threaded studs have a variety of critical uses on board, including to secure engine fuel injectors, pumps and monitoring instruments in place. If these studs are incorrectly fastened, they can stretch beyond their elastic limit and shear. This can lead to engine room fires, potentially immobilising the vessel, causing significant damage and presenting a danger to crew. Continue reading “UK P&I Club releases video on correctly securing fasteners after an overhaul”

Major shipping carriers set to join forces to tackle safety of cargo

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Safetytech Accelerator has launched a collaborative technology acceleration initiative with Evergreen Line, HMM, Lloyd’s Register, Maersk, the Offen Group, ONE (Ocean Network Express) and Seaspan as ‘Anchor Partners’ aiming at reducing cargo fires and losses overboard.

Some of the world’s biggest maritime cargo carriers have joined forces with the world’s first industrial safety technology accelerator to launch a fresh initiative to reduce cargo loss at sea.

The scale and breadth of the challenges facing operators is growing and continues to evolve. These include the increasing carriage of lithium-ion batteries either in containers or within electric vehicles on car-carriers Continue reading “Major shipping carriers set to join forces to tackle safety of cargo”

Recent fire draws safety alert on engine room exhaust hazards

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Following a recent marine casualty resulting in an engine room fire onboard a commercial fishing vessel, the US Coast Guard (USCG) has published a Safety Alert to address the importance of installing noncombustible materials in machinery space boundaries with dry exhaust systems.

The incident highlighted the significant hazards associated with main engine dry exhaust systems coming in direct contact with combustible materials, such as general purpose resin on a wood Fiberglass Reinforced Plastic (FRP) vessel. Some commercial fishing vessels are required to insulate combustibles from heated surfaces in accordance with 46 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) 28.380(b) and ABYC P-1 requires fittings in contact with uncooled exhaust carriers to be noncombustible. Continue reading “Recent fire draws safety alert on engine room exhaust hazards”

Gibraltar updates its guidance for periodic servicing and testing of fire protection systems

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Guidance updated for periodic servicing and testing of every fire protection system

The Gibraltar Maritime Administration has issued a revised Shipping Guidance Notice (SGN) regarding periodic inspection, testing, and maintenance of fire extinguishers, compressed gas cylinders, and fixed fire-extinguishing systems onboard Gibraltar registered vessels. This SGN superseded SGN 028, 028(a), and 028(b) and was published on January 26th, 2023.

Fire Extinguishers (extinguishers include portable and semi-portable units of all types) should be examined annually by a competent person. The hydraulic test period for all types of portable fire extinguishers should be conducted at intervals not exceeding 10 years unless the extinguisher is found to be defective during an inspection. Continue reading “Gibraltar updates its guidance for periodic servicing and testing of fire protection systems”

The advice from the US Coast Guard is to avoid loading electric vehicles with saltwater damage on ships

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The stricken Felicity Ace photographed before sinking. Photo credit: Portuguese Navy
The stricken Felicity Ace photographed before sinking. Photo credit: Portuguese Navy

The US Coast Guard (USCG) has issued a warning to the shipping industry about the extreme risk of loading electric vehicles (EV) with damaged lithium-ion batteries onto commercial vessels.

Marine Safety Alert 01-23, published by USCG, addresses the issue and provides recommendations to vessels, ports, shippers and regulators. The safety alert comes just a few months after Hurricane Ian made landfall in South Florida. In the aftermath of the intense and destructive storm, first responders encountered numerous EV fires where investigations have subsequently determined were caused by exposure of the lithium-ion batteries to saltwater. Continue reading “The advice from the US Coast Guard is to avoid loading electric vehicles with saltwater damage on ships”

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