The fourth Enclosed Space Entry Joint Industry Workshop took place at OCIMF’s London office on 27 March 2025. The cross-industry working group, drawn from leading maritime organisations, was established to identify measures to reduce or eliminate deaths in enclosed spaces onboard vessels.
Recognising that the maritime industry needs to come together to eliminate fatalities associated with enclosed space entry, the group resolved to collaborate on several key projects.
- To develop a standardised ISO-recognised enclosed space symbol and seek to work with the International Maritime Organization to mandate its implementation.
- To develop and publish a booklet for maritime staff that highlights the dangers of enclosed spaces and addresses the human factors related to enclosed space fatalities.
- To develop and publish training videos for:
- Shore-side personnel, highlighting the risks of operational time pressure being put onto vessel crews.
- Non-mariner shore-based personnel who may work on vessels, raising awareness of the dangers of enclosed spaces.
In its previous three meetings, the cross-industry working group’s review of prior enclosed space incidents identified operational, commercial, technical and training related issues as recurring contributing factors. This review also included an analysis of incidents to understand the relationship between vessel type, incident location onboard, and the rank or role of those who died.
Fatalities due to asphyxiation and/or poisoning in the shipping industry continue, despite the existence of numerous rules, regulations, and best practice guidelines on how to avoid such deaths.
The working group agreed that the maritime industry does not need new procedures relating to enclosed space entries. Based on preliminary human factor analysis, it has identified the contribution of 'performance influencing factors' (factors that make errors more or less likely) to many of the enclosed space entry incidents.
The working group is committed to deepening its understanding and sharing its learnings with the wider industry, with the intention of helping organisations identify and improve these factors to prevent incidents from happening.
To support this, the group has set up a confidential survey to receive feedback and case studies from mariners and seafarers, which can be accessed here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/enclosed_space.
Examples of enclosed space incidents can also be submitted by email to enclosedspaceaccidents@intermanager.org. Please include the approximate date, the ship’s name, and a brief description of the accident. Information gathered will be kept strictly confidential.