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Huge leak discovered in fresh water system - DEV imca
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Huge leak discovered in fresh water system

What happened?

Daily soundings of fresh water tanks on a vessel revealed that they were emptying fast – 35 tonnes over 24 hours. A thorough check was conducted of all cabins including the hospital and cabins not currently in use, and no leak or open tap was discovered. Engineers checked all possible valves on the system for leakage, and made a double check of all tanks, which when compared with the previous sounding, found that there was no change in reading – the water was gone; it was not an error of measurement.

What went wrong? Investigation and findings

It was noticed in due course that water was flowing continuously from an overboard discharge on the port side. The galley, laundry room and mess room were thoroughly checked once again. A bain-marie (the device used to keep food warm at the serving point in the mess) inlet and discharge valve were left open. Since there was no overflow from the bain-marie, the leak had not been detected at first.

What were the causes of the incident?

The root cause was considered to be inadequate supervision.

What lessons were learnt? And what were the actions?

A poster with location of valves for bain-marie with marked close/open position was displayed in the mess room and the operation of the valves explained to mess crew.

Members may wish to refer to the following incident:

Near-miss: Unexpected water ingress during fault finding of a cracked water pipe

Safety Event

Published: 9 June 2017
Download: IMCA SF 14/17

Relevant life-saving rules:
IMCA Safety Flashes
Submit a Report

IMCA Safety Flashes summarise key safety matters and incidents, allowing lessons to be more easily learnt for the benefit of all. The effectiveness of the IMCA Safety Flash system depends on Members sharing information and so avoiding repeat incidents. Please consider adding safetyreports@imca-int.com to your internal distribution list for safety alerts or manually submitting information on incidents you consider may be relevant. All information is anonymised or sanitised, as appropriate.

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IMCA makes every effort to ensure the accuracy and reliability of the data contained in the documents it publishes, but IMCA shall not be liable for any guidance and/or recommendation and/or statement herein contained. The information contained in this document does not fulfil or replace any individual’s or Member's legal, regulatory or other duties or obligations in respect of their operations. Individuals and Members remain solely responsible for the safe, lawful and proper conduct of their operations.