Hand and finger injuries Members continue to report hand and finger injuries. In last year’s safety statistics, 42% of LTIs reported by IMCA members involved injuries caused when workers got […]
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
BSEE: Welding and Burning Hazards
The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement of the United States (BSEE) has released Safety Alert 482 entitled Risk Based Inspection Identifies Welding and Burning Hazards. What happened Following inspections […]
Fatality due to fire incident and fall from height
What happened A rope access technician had a fatal fall from around 8.5m while engaged in routine maintenance activities on a pipelay tower. Work was conducted by different vessel work […]
Poor control of work in dry dock
What happened A member reports several cases of hot work and other activities being conducted by contractors on a vessel hull during dry dock/maintenance activities, in which the work was […]
BSEE: Poor preparation prior to hot work leads to fires
The United States Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) has published Safety Alert #447 relating to incidents in which fires were caused following hot work. What happened Recently, several […]
American P&I Club: Fire Started from cutting torch work
The excellent American P&I Club “Good Catch” safety briefing series has published a briefing on a fire that started as a result of hot work. What happened? Crew members on […]
Use of damaged electrical equipment by dock workers
What happened Third-party crew working on a vessel being demobilised were observed using damaged electrical equipment. Third-party welders were preparing to weld the anchor sea-fastening onto the main deck aft. […]
UK HSE: worker fatally injured in oil drum explosion
What happened The UK Health and Safety Executive (HSE) prosecuted a company after a worker was killed when an oil drum exploded during hot work. The incident occurred when an […]
Inhalation of toxic fumes during hot work
What happened Two crew members were exposed to toxic fumes resulting in dizziness, headaches, difficulty in breathing, and low blood oxygen levels. The incident occurred during hot work when thruster […]
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 […]
There’s something in my eye!
What happened? A welder reported to the Chief Officer that he had got something in his eye. The welder had been welding closed ballast tank manhole covers before breaking for […]
Ruptured acetylene hose: Fire
What happened? A subcontractor was preparing to use an oxy-acetylene torch on the back deck of a vessel. The oxygen and acetylene cylinders were located on the quayside with the […]
Near Miss: Fire blanket caught fire during third-party hot work
What happened? While conducting a fire watch round on a vessel in port, a 2nd mate noticed that a fire blanket on the midships fire hose box had caught fire. […]
Update to SF 11/19: Fatality and multiple injuries – flash fire onboard pipe-lay barge
This Safety Flash comprises an update on the flash fire which occurred onboard a pipe-lay barge earlier in 2019, and includes our members’ findings on the causes of the incident, […]
Three fatalities: stored energy; falling objects; traffic management
Incident 1: Stored Energy Release – Worker Killed During Concrete Pumping Operations A company was fined following the death of a worker at a dockside upgrade project at a port […]
Fatality and multiple injuries: flash fire incident onboard pipelay barge
What happened? During pipelaying activities on a pipelay barge, Injection Moulded Polypropylene (IMPP) equipment at a coating station got stuck. Pipelaying activities were stopped and repair operations were started. The […]
Sparks from funnel caused small fire
What happened? A small fire was detected on the well deck area of a diving support vessel (DSV). This occurred during diving operations whilst the vessel was in DP3 mode. […]
Grinding using a cutting disc
What happened? Seamen were grinding sea-fastening spots in the hold, and one of them made a complaint to the Chief Officer about the quality of the grinding discs, they could […]
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 […]
Technical Service Bulletin from Broco/Rankin – BR22 Plus Exothermic Cutting Torch
The Association of Diving Contractors International (ADCI) has circulated an updated Technical Service Bulletin from Broco/Rankin relating to the BR22 Plus Exothermic Cutting Torch. This was sent out by Broco/Rankin […]
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