What happened Subcontractor personnel were exposed to a high concentration of Hydrogen sulphide (H₂S) for a short period during maintenance work in a vessel’s Well Treatment System (WTS) room. 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.
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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
Unauthorised entry into confined space
What happened Planned repair works were taking place on a barge. The work involved hot work (welding & grinding). During the works, the stand-by person, controlling several areas, observed sub-contract […]
Hot work whilst working at height in a confined space – job was stopped
What happened During a site visit to a vessel, it was observed that a third-party contractor’s welder was standing on the wooden platform (the actual height was over 1.80m) inside […]
BSEE: Confined space entry – tank cleaning
The United States’ Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) has published Safety Alert 477 relating to working in Confined Spaces. In recent months, BSEE has observed a trend of […]
WSH: Two workers passed out and died in dredge ballast tank
The Workplace Safety and Health Council of Singapore (WSH) reported in Accident Notification of 24 May 2021, that two workers had passed out and died in a dredger’s ballast tank. […]
Britannia P&I Club: double fatality resulting from confined space entry
The Britannia P&I Club, as part of their BSAFE campaign have published a case study into a double fatality resulting from confined or enclosed space entry. What happened A bulk […]
Confined space entry fatality
What happened? A sad incident has come to IMCA’s attention in which one person lost his life and another was injured, as a result of confined space entry. The incident […]
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 […]
Crew member fainted after working in water ballast tank
What happened? A crew member felt faint and subsequently collapsed after working in a confined space. The incident occurred following the work of a four-person team on rust removal maintenance […]
Confined spaces: silent and invisible killers
The United States Coast Guard (USCG) has issued Marine Safety Alert 04-19 entitled Confined spaces: silent and invisible killers. It serves as a reminder that despite decades of work to […]
High potential near miss: person found unconscious in confined space
What happened? During commissioning activities, a commissioning engineer was found unconscious inside a gas valve unit (GVU). He received CPR and regained consciousness before being transported to the hospital for […]
Person felt unwell while working in confined space
What happened? A worker felt dizzy and weak while cleaning a mud tank. The tank watchman noticed this and initiated the emergency rescue procedures to recover the person from confined […]
Confined space entry: worker died inside pump room
What happened? The Singapore Tripartite Alliance for Workplace Safety and Health (WSH) have published an alert notification relating to the death of a worker inside a pump room. The incident […]
Confined space fatality on-board the fishing vessel Sunbeam
What happened? The UK Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) has published a report into a confined space fatality on-board the fishing vessel at Fraserburgh in the UK, in August 2018. […]
Confined space entry: person overcome by fumes and rendered unconscious
What happened? Three crew members on a vessel were tasked with opening a sewage tank inspection hatch to check the condition of a faulty sensor. The hatch was subsequently removed […]
Potential dropped objects in frame pockets
What happened? The Marine Safety Forum (MSF) has published Safety Alert 18-20 on Potential Dropped Objects in Frame Pockets. When preparing a heavy lift to be discharged from an offshore […]
Near miss: Worker temporarily trapped in confined space
What happened? On a vessel in a shipyard, a member of the painting team accessed a tank to perform an inspection. Around three hours later, a worker was assigned to […]
Near-miss: Incorrect rigging of life raft hydrostatic release
IMCA’s attention has been drawn to a near miss in which it was found that the hydrostatic release on a life raft was not correctly rigged. This was discovered following […]
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