The United States Coast Guard (USCG) has published Safety Alert 06-18 entitled Don’t Let Your Vessel Get Underway Unexpectedly, regarding bollard failures at marine facilities. The alert covers recent shore […]
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
Vessel collision with fixed structure on wind farm
What happened? A vessel collided with the working platform on a wind turbine Transition Piece. The incident occurred during worsening weather conditions. The vessel was on DP, when it was […]
Hangar door failure and collapse
What happened? Whilst a vessel was working, there was a failure and collapse of the moonpool hangar doors. Deck crew were working in the area of the moonpool, when they […]
Three fires
Incident 1: Property damage A vessel was carrying two (working and loaded) deep freezers as deck cargo, destined for delivery to a platform. They were stored inside two metal baskets. […]
Man overboard: personnel transfers by swing rope and personnel basket
The United States’ Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) has published Safety Alert 331 on personnel transfers using swing rope and personnel basket. It relates to a swing rope […]
MSF: three potential near misses during cargo operations
Three recent safety alerts have been released by the MSF, all relating to high potential near misses during cargo operations. One of the incidents is a dropped object near miss […]
LTI: cut to hand from protruding hose clip (Marine Safety Forum)
The Marine Safety Forum (MSF) has released the below safety alert 18-10. What happened? Not long after a vessel departed port, a crew member suffered a serious cut to his […]
Accidental drinking of thinners stored in mineral water bottle
What happened? A trainee ETO took a sip from a mineral water bottle in the engine room workshop. It contained thinners rather than water. The bottle was kept in the […]
Unapproved repair of diver gas supply umbilical
What happened? A diver umbilical assembly was recently returned from a diving support vessel (DSV) to a shore-based workshop, as it was no longer required. During the demobilisation of the […]
Helicopter navigation experienced magnetic interference
What happened? On a normal (passenger) crew change flight in an AW169 helicopter, crew noticed a “1-2 AHRS FAIL” caution displayed in the crew alert system shortly after departure from […]
Uncontrolled movement of a riser
What happened? A riser moved unexpectedly away from the vessel. The incident occurred during the deployment of a production riser from a hang-off frame located starboard aft. All rigging had […]
Corrosion cracking of strain-hardened type 304 stainless steel bolts
What happened? The International Association of Oil & Gas Producers (IOGP) has published Safety Alert #297 relating to the unexpected failure of certain kinds of strain-hardened Type 304 stainless steel […]
Vessel made contact with rig legs
What happened? A vessel came into contact with the legs of a rig – however, there was no damage to the vessel. The incident occurred when the vessel was moving […]
Vessel ran aground following error on chart
What happened A vessel ran aground whilst leaving a channel on the approach to a port. The vessel was making around 4.5 knots, and grounded by the stern in the […]
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 […]
Load fell from trailer after it was inadequately secured
Two articulated lorries with 20′ trailers were organised to move equipment, including lifeboat davits, a power-pack, winches and sheave blocks, from one location to another. The first trailer was loaded […]
Unsafe attempt of personnel transfer between vessels
What happened? Three people from a sub-contractor were observed trying to move from vessel to vessel whilst alongside, by slipping through the bulwark guardrails. There was no proper gangway in […]
Rope on propeller causing partial loss of propulsion
What happened? A platform supply vessel (PSV) started mooring operations whilst stern to a platform, without anchoring, in order to conduct a snatch lift. The platform crane operator started to […]
Sustained load cracking in aluminium cylinders manufactured from aluminium alloys HE30/AA6082 and AA6351
A susceptibility to sustained load cracking (SLC) has been identified in cylinders manufactured from aluminium alloys of specific grades, manufactured between 1963 and 1995. Sustained load cracking is a metallurgical […]
Unexpected Release of Water During Annual Maintenance of CO2 Fixed Firefighting System
What happened An incident took place during annual maintenance of CO2 fixed firefighting equipment on a vessel, in the emergency generator switchboard room. There was an unplanned and unexpected release […]
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