Skip to content

Water ingress during tropical storm

What happened?

A vessel took on a significant amount of rainwater on the upper tween deck during an intense tropical storm. At the time of the storm, the forward crane could not be seen from the bridge. At 0645, it was noted there was water ingress at the upper tween deck. Water Ingress came via the starboard stores hatch on the main deck. Immediately after notifying the bridge, more crew were called to contain the ingress.

The vessel was deliberately listed to starboard to prevent the water from entering the corridor in the accommodation. Unfortunately, some water did enter the corridor before the vessel was listed sufficiently. The vessel was slightly trimmed by the bow.

What went wrong?

  • The hatch was closed but not properly secured. After the vessel left port, no one thought about properly closing the hatch;
  • Due to the weight of the hatch, the hinges were slightly deformed and pushed the hatch about 5mm out of true, and therefore the hatch did not rest correctly on its rubbers and it was very hard to turn the clamps.

What were the causes?

  • Lack of seamanship and inadequate attention on securing that the hatches are closed;
  • Inadequate design.

What actions were taken?

Ensure that hatches are properly closed and secured and that the hatches and clamps are checked regularly and carefully and will received preventive maintenance.

Members may wish to refer to:

Safety Event

Published: 10 January 2020
Download: IMCA SF 02/20

Relevant life-saving rules:
IMCA Safety Flashes
Submit a Report

IMCA Safety Flashes summarise key safety matters and incidents, allowing lessons to be more easily learnt for the benefit of all. The effectiveness of the IMCA Safety Flash system depends on Members sharing information and so avoiding repeat incidents. Please consider adding [email protected] to your internal distribution list for safety alerts or manually submitting information on incidents you consider may be relevant. All information is anonymised or sanitised, as appropriate.

IMCA’s store terms and conditions (https://www.imca-int.com/legal-notices/terms/) apply to all downloads from IMCA’s website, including this document.

IMCA makes every effort to ensure the accuracy and reliability of the data contained in the documents it publishes, but IMCA shall not be liable for any guidance and/or recommendation and/or statement herein contained. The information contained in this document does not fulfil or replace any individual’s or Member's legal, regulatory or other duties or obligations in respect of their operations. Individuals and Members remain solely responsible for the safe, lawful and proper conduct of their operations.