Two recent cases of hand and arm injuries
- Safety Flash
- Published on 10 July 2012
- Generated on 7 November 2025
- IMCA SF 07/12
- 1 minute read
The Marine Safety Forum (MSF) has published two safety flashes (12-25 and 26) regarding incidents in which personnel have injured their hands or arms.
What happened?
In the first incident, a crewman cut the palm of his hand on a sharp edge found on a door finishing strip. On investigation of the door in question an unexpected razor sharp steel burr (ragged edge) was discovered. This was most likely caused by the cutting process of the steel during the manufacture of the door. Other similar doors onboard were checked and some of these also had the same sharp edge.
In the second incident, which occurred during mooring operations, a crewman got his hand trapped between the mooring line and a roller fairlead on deck. As his hand was dragged around the fairlead his arm was twisted and fractured.
Members are reminded to encourage personnel to look after their hands and arms. IMCA produces a range of pocket safety cards covering aspects of hand and arm safety:
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