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? […]
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
Catastrophic fire and explosion on nearby vessel
What happened? A vessel was double-banked alongside engaged with routine maintenance jobs, when a fire broke out on a vessel transporting a petroleum product which was berthed alongside at a […]
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 […]
Battery fire
What happened? The Marine Safety Forum (MSF) reports an incident in which, during the early hours of the morning during a period of adverse weather, the fire alarm in the […]
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 […]
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. […]
Near-miss: Gas release from subsea pipeline
A member has reported a near miss incident in which there was an unplanned release of gas from a subsea pipeline, when divers were working nearby. A vessel was engaged […]
LTI: Leg injury caused during HP water jetting
What happened? During diving operations to clean a riser with a HP water jet type Cavitek, a diver cut his leg (thigh) with the water jet. The incident occurred whilst […]
Diving bell TUP O-ring seal damage
What happened During the locking on of the diving bell to the saturation system on a DSV, difficulty was encountered in closing the locking clamp. After a few attempts, the […]
Lost time injury (LTI): DMA toppled over, injuring a diver
What happened? A DMA* toppled over, trapping a diver on the seabed and causing an injury to his leg. The incident occurred whilst a diving support vessel (DSV) was working […]
Near miss: Fire hazard from engine room equipment failure
A member has reported a near miss incident relating to a fire hazard in a separator room. During routine planned maintenance and testing of a main engine lube oil purifier […]
Near miss: Fire hazard arising from failed fuel pipe connection
A member has reported a near miss incident involving a failed fuel pipe connection. The incident occurred while the vessel was full ahead in transit. Smoke was observed near the […]
Fire in the deep fat fryer
A member has reported an incident in which there was a fire in a deep fat fryer. The galley crew were finished in the galley and went for a break […]
Near miss: Unidentified differential pressure led to diver’s umbilical getting trapped
A member has reported an inshore diving near miss incident in which a diver’s umbilical became trapped and subsequently damaged – no divers were injured. The incident occurred when two […]
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