The National Transportation Safety Board of the United States (NTSB) published “Safer Seas Digest 2023”, which includes a number of incidents which may be of interest to IMCA members. This […]
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.
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Nicholas Hough
Consultant - Safety and Security
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Fire in engine room
What happened A fire occurred in the engine room of a vessel during operations. The fire was first detected by a duty crew member, and the watch team immediately attempted […]
MSF: Safety pins left in fire suppression system – high potential near miss
The Marine Safety Forum has published Safety Alert 24-07 relating to an incident where a Flag State inspection found that all of the CO2 bottles for the engine room fire […]
Inappropriate automatic activation of fixed fire-fighting system
What happened The fixed firefighting system in the engine room on a harbour tug automatically activated and all the gas in the tanks emptied. This occurred after two consecutive blackouts […]
NTSB: Fire on vessel – escaped exhaust gases
The National Transportation Safety Board of the United States (NTSB) published “Safer Seas Digest 2023”, which includes a number of incidents which may be of interest to IMCA members. This […]
LTI: fingers severed by spinning fan blade
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 […]
Engine failure and subsequent engine room fire
What happened There was a catastrophic failure of a diesel generator on a vessel working offshore. The failure of the generator led to engine components being ejected by force, which […]
Injuries to the eyes and face
A member reports a number of incidents where crew have sustained injuries to the face. Eye and face injuries are always a serious matter. IMCA has relayed these incidents to […]
A reminder on watertight doors
What happened Watertight doors that ought have been secured shut, were observed open during a safety walkaround. It’s worth reiterating the importance of watertight doors – the clue is in […]
MAIB: Deep fat fryer fire
The UK Marine Accident Investigation Branch published Safety Digest 2/2023, consisting of lessons from recent Marine Accident Reports. IMCA has reviewed the report and passes on to members some of […]
Fire in diesel generator following tests
What happened There was a small fire in the engine room on a vessel in port. The incident occurred when a diesel generator was being maintained by a third-party maintenance […]
LTI: serious hand injury – fingers lost in unexpected hatch closure
What happened? A crew person was checking the water tightness of the engine room’s emergency hatch cover. Safety lock pins, used to prevent the hatch cover from closing, were missing. […]
MAIB: High pressure oil leak causes a fire in the engine room
The UK Marine Accident Investigation Branch has published Safety Digest 1/2023, consisting of lessons from recent Marine Accident Reports. IMCA has reviewed the digest and here passes on for members […]
MAIB: Gantry crane wire parted causing injury
A gantry crane hoist wire parted causing a load to drop, causing injury and damage to equipment. What happened Engineers were overhauling a large diesel generator, using the engine room’s […]
Fire alarm activation in engine room
What happened There was a small fire in a vessel engine room. There was little damage and no-one was harmed. The incident occurred while a supply vessel was operating within […]
Crew member trapped his left index finger in watertight door
What happened A fitter’s left index finger was pinched between the moving door edge and door frame causing small abrasions to the index finger. The incident occurred during testing of […]
Safety Flashes – a summary of 2022
This is a summary of the 29 IMCA Safety Flashes published during 2022. All the published safety events or incidents are available on the IMCA website as individual web pages […]
MAIB: Engine room fire flashover
The Marine Accident Investigation Branch Safety Digest 2/2022 includes an incident in which there was a flashover in a vessel engine room. What happened A high speed ferry was on […]
Oil tank sight glass push buttons wired open
What happened On a visit to an engine room, a serious bypassing of safety controls was observed. Both top and bottom level check push buttons on an Oil Tank Sight […]
BSEE: Hazards associated with cranes on idle facilities
The United States Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) has published Safety Alert #448 relating to hazards associated with cranes on idle facilities posing safety and environmental risks. What […]
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