We have received reports from members of four separate incidents of underwater explosions occurring when oxy-arc cutting techniques have been in use: A diver was making corner holes in the […]
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
Near-miss: Internal bell door
A member company has reported a near miss which occurred recently when a fitting failed due to corrosion. This was part of the hydraulic system for the handling of the […]
Staphylococcal infection in deep water saturation dive to 200 metres
A member has reported the following infection during a deepwater saturation dive. Nine divers were stored at 170 meters (557 feet) in the chambers, and were working at a bottom […]
Shore leave
A member has brought to IMCA’s attention that two of its offshore personnel were assaulted and seriously injured while their ships were in port and they were on shore leave. […]
Pipe stacking incident
A member has reported a near-miss which could have been a potentially serious incident, which occurred during the stacking of lengths of pipe. The pipe joints were being off-loaded from […]
Fire in switchboard room
A member has provide the following account of a fire which broke out in a carousel 660v switchboard room aboard one of its vessels. The purpose of the 660v switchboard […]
Remote pulling operations – Warning
A member has reported an incident which occurred while a diving support vessel was conducting subsea operations installing j-tube clamps on a jacket. In this particular case, divers had resumed […]
Diver struck by lifting frame while installing concrete mattresses
IMCA has received details of an incident which occurred offshore during concrete mattress installation. Divers were positioning the mattresses in approximately 37 feet of water. As a diver confirmed that […]
Serious injury in towing operation
We have received a report of an incident where three men working on the aft deck of a tug were seriously injured. The vessel had connected to a rig and […]
Divers’ umbilical management
IMCA has been made aware of a safety alert relating to divers’ umbilical management produced by the Western Australia Department of Industry and Resources’ Petroleum Division.
Change to Ultraflow Diaphragm Regulator
IMCA has been asked to help make the offshore diving industry aware of a change to the Ultraflow Regulator Diaphragm – please see the following Divex Product Bulletin on the […]
Confined space entry
IMCA has also been passed a copy of a safety alert produced by the United States Coast Guard relating to confined space entry, which follows.
Near-miss: Sailing close to a construction barge
A member has reported a recent near-miss where a vessel sailed close to a construction barge and crossed over two of its anchor wires. Immediate communication took place between the […]
Open porthole
A member has reported the following incident which occurred onboard one of its vessels. The vessel was sailing in 6 8ft swell and 35kts wind speed, when it was noticed […]
Use of prescription medicines/drugs
A member has forwarded its recently-issued safety reminder concerning the use of prescription medicines. Sometimes, employees who are under treatment of a qualified doctor may be prescribed to take medicine(s) […]
Lack of access provided
A member has reported the following incident, whereby an employee sustained an injury to his right shoulder when he fell while jumping off a Zodiac inflatable (in a cradle suspended […]
Snaking air hose
A mechanic had started a deck air compressor, when the sudden delivery of pressurised air through the delivery hose caused momentary snaking of the hose. The mechanic acted in a […]
Near-miss involving bail-out bottle pillar valve
After replacement of the pillar valve on a bail-out bottle, the bottle was being filled with air. When the pressure reached about 100 bar, the threads slipped from the bottle […]
Near-miss incident involving subsea headache ball
A member has reported a recent incident which occurred during diving operations. A dive team was engaged in removing rock dump from a subsea pipe, in order to position a […]
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