What happened Cargo broke loose in heavy seas on a vessel in transit. Moderate to heavy rolling caused strapping holding stacks of cargo (metal beams) to break, causing the stacks […]
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.
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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
Consultant - Safety and Security
Contact
Safety Events
UK HSE: Offshore crane boom hoist failures
The UK HSE (Health and Safety Executive) have published an alert relating to two incidents that occurred offshore, involving the failure of crane boom hoist ropes, resulting in the crane […]
Equipment on quay damaged when vessel started listing
What happened During inspection of two pad eyes on a Tiltable Lay System (TLS) using a “cherry picker” or mobile elevated work platform on the quayside, the vessel slowly listed, […]
Life raft lashing parted in rough weather
What happened During rough weather on a vessel at sea, the lashing on a life raft gave way due to wear on stitching on the strap eye. The life raft […]
Radio interference from damaged equipment affects other vessels
What happened On a pipelay barge, radio frequency interference to the vessel’s GNSS systems was reported by a surveyor. There was only one other vessel alongside. This vessel was contacted […]
Engine room fire on a ferry
The Bahamas Maritime Authority has published a report into an engine room fire on board the ferry Pride of Hull in October 2020. What happened A fire was detected onboard […]
Incorrect as-built drawing configuration
What happened During leak investigations at a subsea manifold, divers carried out intervention on the system in accordance with approved procedures based on information provided by the client. It subsequently […]
Near miss: divers umbilical drawn beneath a load
What happened Suction from a large GRP (glass-reinforced plastic) cover during lifting resulted in a diver’s umbilical being drawn beneath the load. The incident occurred during hook-up of the GRP […]
Chemical reaction: person injured during grouting operations
What happened After completion of the grouting operation for an offshore wind farm transition piece, the sub-contract grouting team began cleaning their equipment using high pressure water jets. During this […]
Hose management and chemicals: crew person felt ill
What happened Whilst filling a bucket from a hose, someone was adversely affected by the contents of the hose. The incident happened whilst two engineers were in the process of […]
Three bolts sheared on a lifting trunnion
What happened After successful installation of a offshore renewables Transition Piece (TP), crew accessed the TP and discovered that the cover plate of the lifting trunnion had fallen off and […]
Master links came free from lifeboat release hooks, releasing the lifeboat
What happened A vessel was alongside waiting on weather when the decision was taken to use the opportunity to complete annual checks, including lifeboat and davit annual inspections. This included […]
LTI: person fell down hatch inside crane pedestal
What happened Two service engineers where performing an inspection inside a offshore crane pedestal. Inside, there was a ladder running the full height of the crane pedestal, with a hatch […]
UK HSE: uncontrolled movement of fabrication caused injury
The UK Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has prosecuted an engineering company after an employee sustained life-changing injuries whilst welding an industrial steel fabrication. Press release here. What happened A […]
Fire door left wedged open
What happened During a routine visit to a vessel in port, it was noticed that the Class A fire door for the laundry was intentionally wedged open with a wooden […]
Lifejacket battery caught fire
During an inspection on a vessel in cold lay-up, the lifejackets stored underneath a sitting bench in the wheelhouse were found burned and melted. No-one was harmed; apart from the […]
American P&I Club: unfamiliarity with semi-portable fire extinguishers
As part of its Good Catch for Seafarers safety guidance, the American P&I Club has published an alert which highlights the importance of familiarity with fire-fighting equipment. What happened? A […]
Safety Flashes – a review of 2021
This is a summary of the thirty-four IMCA Safety Flashes published during 2021. All the published safety events or incidents are available on the IMCA website as individual web pages […]
MSF: Crankcase failure
What happened The Marine Safety Forum has published Safety Alert 21-19 relating to a crankcase failure. A vessel suffered a crankcase failure on one of four diesel generators, which resulted […]
Oil leakage from cylinder head cover
What happened After completion of regular planned maintenance on one of the main engines, the cylinder covers were mounted back. However, the cover of cylinder number one was not mounted […]
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