What happened? During pipelay operations, two non-destructive testing (NDT) technicians were handling a ‘scanner belt’, which is used to connect the automated ultrasonic testing (AUT) scanner to the pipe for […]
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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
Consultant - Safety and Security
Contact
Safety Events
Release of stored energy from coiled superloops
What happened? A release of stored energy from a coiled superloop resulted in an injury to the person uncoiling the superloop. The member reporting this notes that this is the […]
Electrician received electric shock from a bare cable
What happened? An electrician received an electric shock whilst running a new cable through an existing cable tray. While retrieving the cable, his hand touched the bare end of live […]
Electric Arc Incident
What happened? During a vessel mobilisation a control cabin for an electric ROV was being installed and commissioned. The cabin’s internal main electrical power cable arced, tripping the vessel’s power […]
Life raft self-activates and falls to the quayside
What happened? A life raft self-activated and fell from its cradle from the vessel deck, 8m down onto the barriered quayside bollard area. The weather temperature at the time was […]
Unplanned deployment of free fall lifeboat
What happened? On a vessel alongside there was an unplanned deployment of a free fall lifeboat (FFB), which no-one was aware of. There were no witnesses to the inadvertent launch, […]
Serious injury caused by energy isolation failure
What happened? A yard worker was cleaning debris from underneath a hydraulic pipe. Whilst performing this task, the worker placed his forearm on a hydraulically operated pipe stand. This put […]
Near miss: unplanned release of 2″ blasting hose outlet from air receiver coupling clamp
What happened? During blasting and painting operations conducted at an onshore worksite, a near miss incident occurred when a 2″ blasting hose outlet released from the coupling clamp connected to […]
Auto-ignition of laundry items
What happened? Cloths used for general galley cleaning were removed from a tumble dryer, immediately folded and piled in a steel bucket. Three hours later they were stowed in a […]
Fire in the accommodation: electronic items in cabins
What happened? An incident occurred on board a vessel which almost escalated into a serious accommodation fire. A crew member finished his work for the day and returned to his […]
LTI: diver injured during water jetting operations
What happened? A saturation diver suffered a lost time injury (LTI) to his left arm during subsea high-pressure water jetting operations. The incident occurred when the water jet gun failed, […]
Accidental activation of expired pyrotechnics (hand flare)
What happened? During a vessel dry dock, smoke was observed coming from a forepeak store, which was also accessible from the mess room. Expired hand flare pyrotechnics, boxed and packed […]
Vessel engine block blown open in and around cylinder
What happened? A severe engine failure occurred during a major vessel overhaul. The connection rod on cylinder #12 parted from the connecting rod cap and punched a hole in the […]
Three fires
Incident 1: Property damage A vessel was carrying two (working and loaded) deep freezers as deck cargo, destined for delivery to a platform. They were stored inside two metal baskets. […]
Stored energy: injury caused by failure of expansion joint in fire-fighting equipment
What happened? During a trial of fire-fighting equipment, a hose expansion joint or bellows failed. The release of pressurized water hit a crewman who was standing nearby, slamming him backward […]
Recent prosecutions by the UK HSE
The UK Health & Safety Executive (UK HSE) publishes regular press releases relating to safety incidents. These can be found on the HSE website. IMCA monitors these publications and passes […]
Incorrectly selected oxygen welding gas hose bursts & catches fire
What happened? The ship’s welder opened the Oxygen and Acetylene gas bottle valves in order to do a cutting job on deck. These gas bottles were attached to the vessel’s […]
Finger burnt by overheating electrical component
What happened? The Marine Safety Forum (MSF) reports an incident in which a worker on a vessel was working on the operating panel for a 690 VAC anti-heeling pump, when […]
Unexpected Release of Water During Annual Maintenance of CO2 Fixed Firefighting System
What happened An incident took place during annual maintenance of CO2 fixed firefighting equipment on a vessel, in the emergency generator switchboard room. There was an unplanned and unexpected release […]
Near miss: potential fire in the laundry room
What happened? A vessel was on standby when a fire alarm was activated from the laundry room. The steward was nearby and took immediate action by switching off the relevant […]
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