What happened? The ship’s welder opened the Oxygen and Acetylene gas bottle valves in order to do a cutting job on deck. These gas bottles were attached to the vessel’s […]
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
Finger burnt by overheating electrical component
What happened? The Marine Safety Forum (MSF) reports an incident in which a worker on a vessel was working on the operating panel for a 690 VAC anti-heeling pump, when […]
Unexpected Release of Water During Annual Maintenance of CO2 Fixed Firefighting System
What happened An incident took place during annual maintenance of CO2 fixed firefighting equipment on a vessel, in the emergency generator switchboard room. There was an unplanned and unexpected release […]
Near miss: potential fire in the laundry room
What happened? A vessel was on standby when a fire alarm was activated from the laundry room. The steward was nearby and took immediate action by switching off the relevant […]
Inadequate handling and storage of potentially hazardous substances
What happened? Two drums with unknown chemicals were observed, floating in the sea. The crew retrieved these drums onto the vessel, but they were not stored safely. What went wrong? […]
Unplanned release of stored energy: Worker struck and injured by tensioning tool
What happened? The International Association of Oil & Gas Producers (IOGP) has published Safety Alert 293 about an incident in which a worker was struck on the head and seriously […]
Worker suffers life changing injury after pressure test failure
What happened? The UK HSE advises that three companies were sentenced after an employee suffered serious fractures to his leg. An employee of one company was taking part in a […]
USCG: Remain upright by fully understanding vessel stability
The United States Coast Guard (USCG) has published Safety Alert 11-17 relating to vessel stability and watertight integrity. Recently, a marine casualty involving a fishing vessel in the Bering Sea […]
Two near miss incidents with a risk of scalding
Seahealth.DK has kindly shared this safety alert with IMCA. Incident 1: Blowing boilers What happened: A heavy rain of scalding water from the funnel fell down on the boat deck […]
Laptop battery fire
What happened A laptop battery exploded and caught fire. The incident happened in a workshop setting. The laptop was being used to control certain operations, which had been recently completed. […]
Fatality: overpressure of an explosion-proof enclosure
What happened? International Association of Oil & Gas Producers (IOGP) has published an alert regarding an incident in which an engineer was fatally injured. He was killed when he removed […]
Failure of pipework in fuel tanks
What happened? Water ingress into a fuel tank was discovered to be from leaking pipework. Water ingress was reported into a fuel tank from two seawater lines running through the […]
Oxygen and Acetylene hose caught fire
What happened? A small fire was discovered in oxygen/acetylene hoses. Workers heard an “air blowing sound” and left their work location to investigate. Smoke and flames were noticed and a […]
Incorrect pressure gauge on high pressure supply line
What happened? The International Association of Oil & Gas Producers (IOGP) has published Safety Alert 284 relating to a small steam leak from a pressure gauge on the high pressure […]
High potential near miss: failure of valve on gas bottle
What happened? The Royal New Zealand Navy has reported an explosion during the refilling of gas bottles used for naval diving operations. A crewman was refilling bottles when he heard […]
Stored energy – Worker scalded when hot ash dropped into water
What happened The UK HSE reports that a company was fined after a worker received severe burns to his upper body and face. The incident occurred when a worker was […]
Worker severely burnt following oxygen explosion
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 […]
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: Crewman burnt in fire following release of flammable gas from hand rail
What happened? A mechanic was drilling a 3.5mm hole into the access stair handrail of a rescue craft, in order to install a safety barrier clip. When the drill bit […]
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 […]
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