What happened? The UK HSE reports that an engineering company was fined after a worker suffered life changing injuries after an oxygen pipe exploded in front of him. Work was […]
Safety Flashes
IMCA safety flashes disseminate important information on incidents and potential hazards and the lessons learnt from them that can help prevent incidents occurring elsewhere in the industry.
Individual safety events are available individually online, tagged and searchable, while the traditional PDF collections are also available for download.
Submit a Report
All members are encouraged to contribute relevant safety-related information – please visit our Safety Flash Reporting page for details on the submission process.
IMCA Contact
Nicholas Hough
Technical Adviser - HSSE and Offshore Survey
Contact
Safety Events
Crewman found collapsed – Seasickness
What happened? A trainee member of the crew was found lying unconscious on the deck between two cement tanks. In falling his left arm had twisted under him but there […]
Worker suffers hand injury
What happened? The UK Health & Safety Executive (UK HSE) reports that a company was fined after a worker suffered a serious hand injury after a machinery incident. The incident […]
Chemical spill leads to costly deck replacement
What happened? The USCG has published Marine Safety Alert 01-17 relating to hazards from chemical spills. USCG inspectors found several cracks and parted seams in the aluminium braces of the […]
Fuel spray fire – Déjà vu: Prepare and prevent it from happening to you!
The United States Coast Guard (USCG) has published Marine Safety Alert 06-17 to bring attention to ‘yet another fuel spray fire’. The USCG notes that “these types of incidents, involving […]
LTI: Burn to hand while working in laundry
What happened? UK Step Change in Safety has published an alert in which a member of the crew suffered a burnt hand whilst working in the laundry. The person put […]
Near-miss: Broken chain on self-propelled hyperbaric lifeboat (SPHL) recovery rigging
What happened? A self-propelled hyperbaric lifeboat (SPHL) was being lifted to the main deck for an hyperbaric reception facility (HRF) mating trial. During this activity, the aft lifting chain on […]
Both anchors lost due to chain fouling
What happened? A vessel had used both anchors whilst waiting for 3 days off the coast. Both chains were fouled and could not be cleared by the vessel. External assistance […]
Engine room emergency hatch damage
What happened? An anchor handling tug supply (AHTS) vessel, whilst towing a barge, encountered heavy seas (wind on the beam, 25 knots, waves, 2m) and began to roll heavily. In […]
Failure of casting: Foundation brackets for steering gear
What happened? Damage was reported to the steering gear hydraulic ram foundation brackets connecting the ram to the structure of the vessel. The foundation bracket casting failed. What went wrong? […]
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 […]
Drill bit snapped: Finger injury sustained
What happened? A crewman was in the process of using an electric drill to fix a broom head to a broom stick. The broom stick was held in the vice. […]
Person accidentally drank hazardous substance: Unmarked bottle
What happened? A third-party agent was on board a vessel during port clearance formalities. On the bridge, there was a mineral water bottle from which this person took a swallow. […]
Near-miss: Fire hazard from leaking fuel supply line
What happened? A potential fire hazard was discovered, caused by a failed fuel pipe connection on the supply line to the main engines. The Chief Engineer was called to engine […]
Dangerous modifications found within a gas valve unit room
Don’t allow corrective actions to create additional hazardous conditions! The USCG has issued Safety Alert 05-17 to warn of a potentially dangerous situation involving modifications within gas valve unit (GVU) […]
Galley fire: Failure to follow stove/oven installation instructions
What happened? The United States Coastguard (USCG) has published Marine Safety Alert 02-17, relating to a fire on an offshore platform. A manufacturer had improperly installed a commercial grade electric […]
How PPE works: Fire and thermal protection
What happened? The US Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) has published a report of a fire on an offshore production platform in the Gulf of Mexico, resulting in […]
Dropped object injury: Equipment shifted when it was incorrectly unsecured
What happened? On a cable laying vessel, a cable quadrant had been rigged on the bulwarks, seated in a pedestal mounting and secured via lashings on the outboard side. Normal […]
LTI: Contact with refrigerant gas causing hand injury
What happened? An engineer suffered a freezing burn to his hand when there was a leak of refrigerant gas while he was refilling a vessel’s central air conditioning (AC) system. […]
Unsecured cargo inside containers
Two incidents are highlighted here in which cargo was damaged because it was not properly secured. Incident 1 A member has reported an incident in which cargo weighing 1.5 tonnes […]
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