What happened Three of four lifting chains on a load parted while the load was being lifted. The incident occurred in the last lift of sections of grillage from a […]
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
Davit hook failures
What happened A member reports two separate instances where a workboat davit hook, and life raft davit hook components, have failed. What went wrong Our member took the following actions: […]
Sheave became detached during lifting operations
What happened During recovery operations of marine geophysical sensors, a sheave parted from a swivel connection on the A-frame. The sheave fell approximately 6m to the deck below. No personnel […]
Near Miss: personnel transfer basket hit structure
What happened During a transfer of two personnel to a platform using the vessel crane, the base bumper of the personnel transfer basket came into contact with the helipad netting […]
BSEE: A warning on tagline entanglement
What happened The United States Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) has published Safety Alert 461 relating to recent tagline entanglements which have resulted in several High Potential near […]
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 […]
MAIB: A heavy sheave fell over causing an LTI
What happened A bosun suffered a broken leg when a heavy sheave he was trying to manoeuvre, fell against him. On a vessel going into port, crew were preparing to […]
MAIB: Who is in control?
What happened Control was lost of a vessel and it almost ran aground as a result. Fortunately, the crew were able to regain control before the vessel (a ferry) grounded, […]
MAIB: Lithium-ion battery fire
What happened water got into Lithium-ion batteries in equipment for use subsea, causing an explosion. Inspection of the equipment after a successful deployment identified a potential leak from one of […]
Hand injury while using manual torque tool
What happened? A deck engineer was torquing Grayloc clamp bolts connecting the gooseneck connector onto the second end of a flexible, using a manual torque wrench with a force multiplier […]
Loss of redundancy in diving bell launch and recovery (LARS) PLC system
What happened During a vessel transit to an offshore field, Dive Technicians on a routine walkaround noticed an alarm from the LARS for the dive bells. Investigation indicated loss of […]
Hand injury in medical airlock
What happened An LST (Life Support Technician) suffered a finger injury whilst operating the medical airlock (“Med-lock”) on a dive chamber. The LST (Life Support Technician) was closing the Med-lock […]
Painter line snapped and hit crew member in the face
What happened A painter line snapped during towing operations, and the flying end struck a worker in the face. The worker was wearing full PPE (helmet and safety glasses) and […]
MSF: Disposable vape self-ignition
The Marine Safety Forum (MSF) has published Safety Alert 23-03 relating to an incident where an e-cigarette (“vape”) caused a small fire. This may be of interest to members. What […]
Differential pressure: dummy choke ejected close to divers
What happened? A dummy choke insert was ejected from a water injection (WI) tree by force of differential pressure, while divers were working nearby. A Dive team was removing a […]
Crane boom stopper fell to main deck
What happened A knuckle boom stopper pad fell to the main deck directly below the knuckle boom. No personnel were injured, however there was potential for serious or fatal injury. […]
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 […]
BSEE: Swing rope transfers
The United States Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) has published Safety Alert 456 relating to the dangers inherent to swing rope transfers. The BSEE notes that “personnel transfers […]
Close approach of AHTS vessel to offshore rig
What happened An AHTS vessel made a close approach to the mooring lines for an offshore rig. The AHTS was involved in anchor handling operations for the rig. The vessel […]
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