Loss Prevention

GOS makes recommendations for USCG to improve fishing vessels safety

Posted on by News Hound
Image for illustrative purposes only

The US Government Accountability Office (GAO) has identified several actions that the US Coast Guard (USCG) needs to take to help prevent future fishing vessel losses and related fatalities and has made six key recommendations. According to GAO, USCG hasn’t fully implemented 17 of 22 statutory requirements to improve commercial fishing vessel safety.

For example, USCG hasn’t developed a training program for commercial fishers or re-established an advisory committee on industry safety issues. In addition, USCG doesn’t have a detailed plan to guide their efforts to fully implement the outstanding statutory requirements. Continue reading “GOS makes recommendations for USCG to improve fishing vessels safety”

Electrical component failure causes flame discharge

Posted on by News Hound
Photo credit: ATSB
Photo credit: ATSB

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) has published its investigation report on the liquified hydrogen (LH2) carrier Suiso Frontier. According to the report, the failure of an incorrectly-fitted electrical solenoid valve led to the brief propagation of flame.

While berthed on the evening of 25 January 2022, the chief mate and cargo engineer made plans to start the ship’s gas combustion unit or GCU (see the section titled Gas combustion unit and Figure 1) to burn excess boil-off gas (BOG) from the LH2 cargo tank. 2 They notified the wharf operator and followed standard Continue reading “Electrical component failure causes flame discharge”

Lessons learned from wet damage steel product claims

Posted on by News Hound
Avoidable claims related to the carriage of finished and semi-finished steel products which continue to remain an issue.
Avoidable claims related to the carriage of finished and semi-finished steel products which continue to remain an issue.

John Southam, Loss Prevention Executive, and David Richards, Director (Claims), both from North P&I Club, offer lessons learned and discuss avoidable claims related to the carriage of finished and semi-finished steel products which continue to remain an issue.

The issues highlighted by North P&I include the importance of recording the preload condition and defending yourself against allegations of unseaworthiness with strong evidence.

In some recent cases it became apparent that the preload condition of the steel cargo was poor, whether it was physical damage through impact or corrosion damage from wetting. And when such damage to the cargo is noted at discharge, a high value claim can result. Continue reading “Lessons learned from wet damage steel product claims”

Water flood in cargo hold case study

Posted on by News Hound
There was a water flood into a cargo hold after crew washed the main deck
There was a water flood into a cargo hold after crew washed the main deck

According to the Swedish Club’s latest monthly safety scenario, water was flooding from the cargo hold, after the crew of a containership were washing down the main deck and cargo hatches. Here are the learnings.

It was morning and outside there was a light breeze and some drizzle. The crew of the container vessel was preparing to wash down the main deck and cargo hatches before arrival in port the same afternoon. They had the rare opportunity to do this as there were no containers on deck, only in the cargo hold. Continue reading “Water flood in cargo hold case study”

Securing arrangements on deck in a poor state led to the loss of containers from APL England

Posted on by News Hound

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) has published its final report into the loss of containers from the vessel APL England off the coast of Sydney in 2020. One of the key findings noted is the importance of vessel fixtures being regularly maintained to ensure they are secure and stable.

On 11 May 2020, the 5,780 TEU fully-cellular container ship APL England departed Ningbo, China, bound for Sydney, New South Wales. The ship was loaded with 3,161 containers (5,048 TEU), with a forward draught of 11.44 m, an aft draught of 13.32 m, and a GM2 of 1.69 m. The Singapore-flagged ship was technically managed by the CMA CGM International Shipping Company Pte. Ltd (CCISC). Continue reading “Securing arrangements on deck in a poor state led to the loss of containers from APL England”

Poor wiring results in ship’s detention

Posted on by News Hound
Photo credit: American Club
Photo credit: American Club

In its most recent “Good Catch” series, the American Club has shared a case where a ship was detained due to an ISM deficiency, arising from poor wiring.

Since there was no electrician onboard, the vessel’s third engineer was sent to investigate why the vessel’s forward anchor light was out. He found the wiring in extremely poor condition. The insulation was missing in some areas and heavily cracked in others. The wire itself was shorted out against the side of the deck penetration. He made repairs using some wire he had in his tool belt and a lot of electrical tape. He then reported that the problem was fixed. Continue reading “Poor wiring results in ship’s detention”

Material fatigue of pressure gauge pipe causes ferry fire is report finding

Posted on by News Hound
Report finding is material fatigue of pressure gauge pipe causes ferry fire
Report finding is material fatigue of pressure gauge pipe causes ferry fire

The German Bureau of Maritime Casualty Investigation (BSU) has published its report on the German flagged ferry BERLIN, which suffered a fire en route to Rostock on 13 August 2020.

At about 0245, when the ferry was in the approach fairway about 2.6 nm off the sea channel, alarms sounded in the engine control room (ECR) and in the workshop. The IMAC Alarm, “gear oil sump level low” sounded first. The ship’s mechanic 1 (SM 1) acknowledged the alarm in the workshop and proceeded to the source of the alarm at main engines (ME) 1 and 2 (the two main engines that drive the controllable pitch propeller together with ME 3, via a common reduction gearbox). There he detected a leakage from a double nipple on top of the gearbox (from the pressure gauge connection). Continue reading “Material fatigue of pressure gauge pipe causes ferry fire is report finding”

Whitepaper Ammonium Nitrate fire risk on board ships

Posted on by News Hound

The risks posed by poor conditions of storage of this common compound, which is used extensively in the Fertilisers and Explosives industries, have been well documented but awareness of the dangers of fire during transportation by sea is less well known. The objective of this guide, entitled ‘Ammonium Nitrate Fire Risk on Board Ships’ is to outline best practice with respect to the management of risk on vessels chartered to ship the compound through ports around the world.

Ammonium Nitrate (NH₄NO₃), a white to grey odourless chemical has a melting point of 169 degrees C and decomposes at 210 degrees C. While it does not burn by itself, significantly it will accelerate burning of combustible material, producing toxic oxides of nitrogen and ammonia, which will support combustion, even in the absence of oxygen. Continue reading “Whitepaper Ammonium Nitrate fire risk on board ships”

Loss prevention measures for the carriage of electrically powered refrigerated containers in cargo holds

Posted on by News Hound
The writer of this article is a Master Mariner, with extensive experience as a Senior Surveyor/Consultant and Manager. He has extensively dealt with numerous cargo claim cases and carried out plentiful investigations.
The writer of this article is a Master Mariner, with extensive experience as a Senior Surveyor/Consultant and Manager.

This article has been written by Capt. Jatinder Singh Chada (Jatin) MIIMS as a brief introductory guide to loss prevention, specifically for carriage of electrically powered refrigerated containers inside cargo holds (under deck). With the increase in transportation of refrigerated commodities and containerization, container vessels are being designed to accommodate more and more refrigerated containers under deck, in addition to the customary practice of loading reefer containers on deck, as operators want to cash in the extra freight.

Based on statistics of incidents handled by the author, it has been noted that most of the incidents involving high temperatures (and related malfunctions) on containers loaded Continue reading “Loss prevention measures for the carriage of electrically powered refrigerated containers in cargo holds”

Regulation and improving fire-fighting techniques have proven inadequate to stem the tide of serious incidents on container ships

Posted on by News Hound
TSS Pearl - Photo credit: Saudi Press Agency
TSS Pearl – Photo credit: Saudi Press Agency

The freight transport and logistics insurance specialist insurer, TT Club is continuing its battle to convince cargo interests, supply chain professionals and enforcement agencies that the responsibility for mitigating container ship fires is shared by numerous entities involved from end to end of the entire global supply chain. With its estimated sixty-day average occurrence of serious incidents being maintained by the Zim Charleston fire in August and the TSS Pearl in the Red Sea in early October, TT is once more urging a more comprehensive approach to arresting the trend. Continue reading “Regulation and improving fire-fighting techniques have proven inadequate to stem the tide of serious incidents on container ships”

Planned maintenance on domestic commercial vessels safety alert from AMSA

Posted on by News Hound

The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) has published a safety alert to draw the attention of vessel operators to the importance of planned maintenance in ensuring the safe operation of domestic commercial vessels in Australia.

Planned maintenance is essential on domestic commercial vessels. Good maintenance work in port or at anchor can help avoid breakdowns and getting into hazardous situations at sea. Recent incidents have demonstrated the potentially serious consequences of a lack of effective maintenance that can pose serious risks to the safe operation of vessels. Analysis of 117 incident investigations since 2020 found that maintenance problems were a factor in 28% of incidents, including half of the very serious incidents and 27% of serious Continue reading “Planned maintenance on domestic commercial vessels safety alert from AMSA”

Advice on the safe carriage of hazardous chemical cargoes from the Swedish P&I Club

Posted on by News Hound

Working in partnership with CWA International, the Swedish P&I Club has produced a guidance document to assist operators in the daily operation of their vessels relating specifically to the carriage of hazardous chemical cargoes.

A wide range of more than 5,000 chemical products and grades are carried on board chemical tankers. These chemical products often have a high minimum purity due to their intended end uses. The contamination of chemical cargoes can often affect the suitability for their intended end use, and this can play a significant role in the value of the cargo. As a result, special consideration should be given towards Continue reading “Advice on the safe carriage of hazardous chemical cargoes from the Swedish P&I Club”

Instagram Posts from the IIMS @iimsmarine