What happened? Emergency stop buttons were accidently activated on a vessel engaged in Saturation Diving Operations in the 500m Zone. This caused the Starboard Voith Schneider Propulsion (VSP) System to […]
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
Near miss fire – epoxy overheating
What happened? Smoke was seen coming from a 20′ freight container on the deck of a vessel. The smoke was caused by remnants of used epoxy which nearly caught fire. […]
Smouldering coiled extension cable
What happened? While ventilating a manhole in the engine room, the fire alarm was triggered when an electrical extension lead overheated, melting the insulation and started smouldering. What went wrong? […]
Near miss: fire/explosion thermal runaway – lead acid battery
What happened? An overheated and swollen lead acid battery was found on-board a vessel. What went wrong? When charging, the temperature inside the affected battery rose beyond the critical level. […]
Seawater entering cabin caused electrical fault
What happened? During vessel operations, a porthole in a passenger’s cabin was left untightened and slightly ajar. This allowed for seawater to enter the cabin and seep into the electrical […]
Fire in incinerator exhaust gas manifold
What happened? During burning of sludge in the vessel incinerator, there was a high exhaust gas temperature alarm. Smoke appeared from the incinerator exhaust gas manifold, followed by a fire […]
Quayside dropped object
What happened? A metal plate weighing 5kg detached itself from a freight container and fell onto the quayside during vessel loading operations. The crew noticed that the bottom of the […]
High potential near miss: dropped object during piggyback drilling operations
What happened? During piggyback drilling operations, a driller inadvertently operated the sample winch control lever instead of the power swivel fast rotation control lever as intended. Activating the sample winch […]
Near miss: dropped magnet during dry docking
What happened? There was a dropped object near miss incident involving a magnet which was used by subcontractors during hot work operations. The incident occurred during a dry docking. Part […]
Two incidents relating to life-rafts/life boats
Incident 1: Life-Raft Inadvertently Deployed During monthly inspection of the life-raft, the port side life-raft was accidentally released into the water and activated. The incident was reported to the bridge, […]
Man overboard fatality
What happened? The US Coast Guard (USCG) has published Safety Alert 05-19 relating to a man overboard fatality. The incident occurred when a very large (330m) container ship arrived in […]
Line of fire: cutting injury to index finger
Whilst using a safety knife to remove the outer sheaving from a core conductor, a crew member managed to cut his finger. The safety knife slipped through the sheaving and […]
Sprained ankle whilst climbing on equipment
What happened? A crewman slipped and sprained his ankle climbing off equipment on which he had been working. The incident occurred inside a transition piece (the lower part of an […]
Have a regime when the current’s abeam – ensure adequate manoeuvring space!
What happened? The United States Coast Guard (USCG) has issued Safety Alert 03-19 relating to the consequences of manoeuvring in high current environments. Recently there were three marine casualties that […]
Near miss: uncontrolled movement of gangway
What happened? A vessel gangway moved in an unplanned way and could have been lost overboard. The incident occurred when the starboard gangway was under maintenance; the upper part of […]
Space heater caught fire
A space heater and some loose equipment caught fire. An area had been washed down as part of a housekeeping activity. As a precaution, electrical heaters were switched off and […]
Three hand injuries
Incident 1: Fingers and Hands in Rotating Machinery – Employee’s Hand Severed by Machinery A company supplying aluminium parts was fined after an employee suffered serious injuries when using a […]
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 […]
Don’t put your finger in the wrong place: failure to isolate equipment causes serious finger injury
What happened? While carrying out work to fix the hydraulic arm of an ROV manipulator, the person involved was trying to adjust the position of the piston to align holes […]
Galley electric shock – uncontrolled portable electrical equipment
What happened? A person cleaning the galley got a mains electric shock; during galley cleaning, the chief cook was using a wet cloth to wipe clean the food preparation areas. […]
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