What happened? Whilst engaged in business travel, an employee of one of our members slipped and fell when descending a hotel staircase. He sustained multiple fractures and dislocation of 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
Fall from a height into a ballast tank
What happened? A worker inside a ballast tank fell from height. The incident happened when a welder and two welder helpers were installing additional stiffeners on the inside of […]
Serious injury caused by high-pressure washer
What happened? A work team supervisor sustained a laceration to his upper right thigh caused by a high-pressure water jet. The injury required several stitches and the injured party was […]
UK HSE: Workers injured by unplanned release of mud slurry
What happened An electricity power station company was prosecuted after three contractors were injured by a sudden release of water and sludge, while carrying out maintenance work. Three crew were […]
Fall from the quayside into water
Whilst slinging a palleted water bag (load), a third-party contract worker who was assisting in the operation fell approximately 3 metres from the quayside into the water. The original, risk-assessed […]
Sewage spilled onto the quayside
30-40 litres of sewage water was spilled onto the quayside during a transfer operation from vessel to sewage truck. There was no discharge into the sea due to a contained […]
Ignited hand sanitiser
What happened? Someone got his hands burnt when alcohol based hand sanitiser caught fire. The person was using alcohol based hand sanitiser as recommended during the Corona pandemic. The person […]
LTI: worker lost his thumb
What happened? During drilling operations, a worker got his thumb caught under a part of a drill being lowered into position, resulting in the amputation of the thumb just above […]
Fire in engine room and subsequent collision with structure on transport barge
What happened? During the tow of a structure to location, a fire occurred in the engine room of the tow tug. This led to a blackout resulting in a collision […]
UK HSE: worker fell into lift shaft – safety controls bypassed
What happened? The UK HSE prosecuted a company after a 34-year-old employee was moving a loaded lift trolley in the tool department of a hangar when he fell into the […]
Agitator started moving during mud tank cleaning – leading to injury
What happened? An agitator in a mud tank started up when an employee of a third-party contractor working in the tank was in the way. He was hit by the […]
Worker fell from height and suffered life changing injuries
What happened? A worker was paralysed from the waist down when he fell 3.4 metres to the bottom of a ships hold. A 28-year-old worker, a stevedore employed to unload […]
Near miss: engine room hatch left open without barriers
What happened? During routine maintenance, it was reported that the engine room hatch was left open with no physical barriers around, creating the potential for serious injury if distracted persons […]
Potential for diver injury operating a hand-held torque wrench
What happened? A diver was involved in a near miss that could have resulted in serious injury when he was asked to function an ROV valve override on a subsea […]
Damage and engine room flooding following contact by tugboat
What happened? A vessel suffered damage to the hull and engine room flooding due to contact with a tugboat during berthing. One of two tugs lost manoeuvrability and bumped into […]
Near miss: failure of work procedures during hot work at height
What happened? During a crew change handover walk around the vessel hull, the Master observed a welder working close to the open/unsecured edge of a PS davit area. The incident […]
High potential LTI: rigger ear injury
What happened? A crewman suffered a serious ear injury whilst removing some temporary rigging suspended from a crane gantry walkway. The incident could have been much more serious; the potential […]
LTI: finger injury caused while working with oil drums
What happened? A crewmember suffered a fracture to the right-hand ring finger whilst arranging 200l oil drums. The injured person was moving drums from a container using a pallet truck, […]
Potential for diver injury operating a hand-held torque wrench
What happened? A diver was involved in a near miss that could have resulted in serious injury when he was asked to function an ROV valve override on a subsea […]
High potential near miss: dropped object from turbine tower
What happened? At a wind turbine tower, chains weighing 17kg fell 84m. The incident occurred during the pulling through of a 66kv HV cable during installation. The surplus chain came […]
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