What happened? The United States Coastguard (USCG) has published Marine Safety Alert 02-17, relating to a fire on an offshore platform. A manufacturer had improperly installed a commercial grade electric […]
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
How PPE works: Fire and thermal protection
What happened? The US Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) has published a report of a fire on an offshore production platform in the Gulf of Mexico, resulting in […]
Dropped object injury: Equipment shifted when it was incorrectly unsecured
What happened? On a cable laying vessel, a cable quadrant had been rigged on the bulwarks, seated in a pedestal mounting and secured via lashings on the outboard side. Normal […]
LTI: Contact with refrigerant gas causing hand injury
What happened? An engineer suffered a freezing burn to his hand when there was a leak of refrigerant gas while he was refilling a vessel’s central air conditioning (AC) system. […]
Unsecured cargo inside containers
Two incidents are highlighted here in which cargo was damaged because it was not properly secured. Incident 1 A member has reported an incident in which cargo weighing 1.5 tonnes […]
Near-miss: Gas release from subsea pipeline
A member has reported a near miss incident in which there was an unplanned release of gas from a subsea pipeline, when divers were working nearby. A vessel was engaged […]
Diver’s worksite identification errors
A member reports continued worksite identification errors by divers. This is in spite of a significant reduction in such errors following improved engineering procedures and the application of operational good […]
Pilot ladder requirements
A member has reported an incident in which a vessel was supplied with a new pilot ladder which did not meet International Maritime Organization (IMO) or International Organization for Standardization […]
Vessel mast struck bridge – equipment damage
A member has reported an incident in which the aft mast of a vessel struck an overbridge and broke, damaging the navigation lights on the mast. The incident took place […]
MAIB: Two recent vessel collisions
The UK Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) have published two reports relating to two vessel collisions which will be of interest to members. Incident 1: Collision between general cargo vessel […]
Vessel activities near platforms – two incidents
A member has reported a number of incidents involving vessels working close to fixed platforms. Incident 1: High potential near miss – vessel blackout on approach to platform A DP1 […]
Near miss: Emergency fire pump could not be started from the bridge
A member has reported a near miss incident in which it was discovered that an emergency fire pump could not be started from the bridge. The discovery was made during […]
Near miss: Fire hazard arising from failed fuel pipe connection
A member has reported a near miss incident involving a failed fuel pipe connection. The incident occurred while the vessel was full ahead in transit. Smoke was observed near the […]
Fire in the deep fat fryer
A member has reported an incident in which there was a fire in a deep fat fryer. The galley crew were finished in the galley and went for a break […]
Two falls – one from a telehandler in a shipyard – failure to think through risks
The UK Health and Safety Executive (UK HSE) has published two recent news alerts covering prosecutions of companies responsible for someone falling from height. Incident 1 Two companies were fined […]
Crewman struck and injured by forklift truck
A member has reported an incident in which a person was struck by a shipyard forklift while returning to the vessel from the yard machine shop. The blow to the […]
Man overboard fatality: Tragic consequences of failing to follow safety procedures
The United States Coastguard (USCG) has published Marine Safety Alert 01-17 relating to a man overboard fatality. Whilst a vessel was at anchor off the coast, a crewmember that could […]
Fatal fall from height during cargo operations – Johanna C
The UK Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) has published Report 1/2017 regarding a fatal fall from height during cargo operations. The Chief Officer on board the UK registered general cargo […]
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