What happened? A vessel was at anchorage waiting for the pilot. The engine room was manned and the main engine ready for manoeuvring. The duty engineer informed the bridge that […]
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
Workboat Failed During Transfer Operations Due to Fuel Contamination
What happened? The Marine Safety Forum (MSF) has published a Safety Alert regarding an incident in which a workboat’s engine cut out. The incident occurred during a crew transfer operation […]
Catastrophic Engine Failure Resulting in A Fire on A Crew Transfer Vessel
What happened? The UK Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) has published its report into an engine failure and subsequent fire on board the crew transfer vessel Windcat 8, which occurred […]
Worker fatally injured in falling from a scissor-lift platform which collided with another vehicle
What happened? The UK HSE reports that a company has been fined after a worker suffered fatal injuries. The worker was operating a scissor-lift working platform when this was struck […]
Galvanic corrosion causes dropped object – satellite dome fell from mast
What happened? A vessel was sailing in its assigned standby location during heavy weather when the VSAT satellite antenna dome mounted on the vessel’s mast fell off and landed in […]
High potential dropped object – satellite dome fell from mast
Note: this incident happened recently and is still under investigation. What happened? During a vessel transit in moderate seas, when the vessel was rolling and pitching, the Sat C dome […]
Fixed CO2 fire extinguishing systems – US Coast Guard alert
What happened The United States Coast Guard (USCG) has published Safety Alert 13-17 relating to Fixed CO2 fire extinguishing systems. This alert follows discovery of critical deficiencies in the fixed […]
Inadequate handling and storage of potentially hazardous substances
What happened? Two drums with unknown chemicals were observed, floating in the sea. The crew retrieved these drums onto the vessel, but they were not stored safely. What went wrong? […]
Fast rescue craft damaged by inappropriate use
What happened? A vessel was engaged in a joint offshore oil spill response exercise involving third parties. During the exercise, the client instructed the Master to use the Fast Rescue […]
Gangway damaged when lifting line parted
What happened? A lifting line failed whilst vessel crew were lifting the gangway to stow it in position on departure from an anchorage. The gangway was hoisted to a position […]
Near miss: Potential dropped object due to unsecured door
What happened? Step Change in Safety reports an incident in which there was a potential dropped object due to an unsecured door on a load. The incident occurred when a […]
High potential near miss: AB slipped over the side during mooring operations
What happened During mooring operations, an Able Seaman (AB) jumped from the vessel to the quayside to receive the mooring ropes. In doing so he slipped over the bulwark and […]
Near miss: Worker temporarily trapped in confined space
What happened? On a vessel in a shipyard, a member of the painting team accessed a tank to perform an inspection. Around three hours later, a worker was assigned to […]
Finger injury while using a crowbar to try to shift a large shackle
What happened? During anchor handling operations, one anchor was on deck and crew were required to connect a wire socket to the anchor by using a shackle. The wire socket […]
Arm injury whilst using pillar drill
What happened? The Marine Safety Forum (MSF) reports another incident wherein a crew person was injured following misuse of a pillar drill. Crew were in the process of using a […]
Load exceeding safe working load (SWL) leads to overstressed and damaged rigging
What happened? During a recent decommissioning operation, shears were used to cut a pipeline. The shear tool was rigged to the crane in a vertical fashion. The shear tool was […]
Two cases of contaminated drinking water
What happened? Actions taken Vessel fresh water tanks should be regularly inspected and cleaned; Drinking water bottles should not be re-used; Arranged for proper and scheduled cleaning of fresh water […]
Bow thruster room flooded during fresh water transfer operation
What happened? A vessel’s bow thruster room was flooded during fresh water transfer operations. The plan was to complete receiving fresh water in Tank No. 2 Centre first before moving […]
Potential engine room flooding: maintenance and equipment failure issues on a laid-up vessel
What happened? A seawater cooling line failed during planned maintenance on a vessel in “cold” lay-up. An engineer and an AB were conducting planned maintenance on vessels in “cold” lay-up. […]
Worker suffers life changing injury after pressure test failure
What happened? The UK HSE advises that three companies were sentenced after an employee suffered serious fractures to his leg. An employee of one company was taking part in a […]
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