What happened Third-party crew working on a vessel being demobilised were observed using damaged electrical equipment. Third-party welders were preparing to weld the anchor sea-fastening onto the main deck aft. […]
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
Hydrogen Sulphide detected in a bilge tank
During routine transfer of bilge water from engine room bilge wells to the bilge water tank, the crew noticed the smell of “rotten eggs” from the bilge tank vent. Immediately […]
Dropped object: dislodged flex-joint laydown tool component
What happened? During removal of the anti-rotation/laydown tool from a Flex-Joint, a load-ring half plate, weighing 85kg, was inadvertently dislodged and dropped about 1.8m to deck. Crew on a J-Lay […]
USCG: Unexpected heavy weather dangers
The United States Coast Guard (USCG) has released Safety Alert 07-21 relating to the unexpected danger posed by weather at sea. The USCG notes: “Unexpected heavy weather events and rapid […]
Fuel oil hose burst during bunkering
What happened During bunkering a vessel in port, a 2” fuel oil hose burst. The hose burst as the fuel transfer rate was increased at the start of the operation. […]
Diver finger injury from Lionfish fin ray
What happened A diver suffered a finger injury from a Lionfish fin ray. The incident occurred during diving operations, when the diver went to pick up some tooling and the […]
MOB: person fell into water during gangway installation
What happened Deck crew were installing a portable gangway when a crew person fell into the water. The person was wearing full PPE and a life jacket and was recovered […]
MSF: Dropped object during cargo discharge operations
The Marine Safety Forum (MSF) has published Safety Alert 21-14 relating to a dropped object during cargo discharge operations. What happened A cargo ship loaded with cargo for the renewables […]
Shackle failure during over-boarding of pennant wire and ballast chain
What happened During over-boarding of the pennant wire and ballast chain from the main anchor handling winch over the stern roller, there was a failure in the chain link / […]
Failure of COBRA contents pressure gauge
What happened Whilst at the COBRA charging station in the bell hangar during project mobilisation, a diver was venting a COBRA unit, prior to charging. The diver opened the valve […]
Failure of first stage regulator low pressure (LP) blanking cap
What happened During a dive, a leak was noted coming from the first stage of diver #2’s regulator on the bail out bottle. Further inspection identified that the low-pressure port […]
Hand pinched between cable and cable roller frame
What happened A person got their hand trapped between the cable and an upright steel frame post of the roller table, leading to a hand injury. After completion of testing […]
MSF: Eye Injury Whilst Opening Paint Tin Lid
What happened The Marine Safety Forum (MSF) has published Safety Alert 21-15 relating to someone injuring their eye whilst attempting to open a tin of paint. The incident took place […]
De-Rusting Incident Resulting In Eye Injury
What happened During descaling operations using a chipping hammer, a worker got dust or rust in his eye, although he was wearing goggles and a mask at the time. The […]
UK HSE: Lubrication of circuit breakers – safety notice
The UK Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has published a Safety Notice regarding the lubrication of circuit breakers in both HV and LV equipment. The key issues covered are the […]
USCG: Corrosion causing structural failure on accommodation ladders
The United States Coast Guard (USCG) has published Safety Alert 05-21 relating to corroded turntable pins on accommodation ladders. What happened The USCG reported that “a recent marine casualty resulting […]
Defective embarkation ladder quarantined – a reminder
What happened During routine inspection of the port side embarkation ladder on a vessel operating in a tropical environment, it was observed that the embarkation ladder rope has become very […]
Unexpected movement of conductor during diver dredging operations
What happened Divers were conducting dredging operations in preparation for an external cut of a conductor (E5 in the diagram below) using a diamond wire saw. Due to seabed conditions, […]
NTSB: The sinking of the El Faro – an illustrated digest
What happened The National Transportation Safety Board of the United States (NTSB) has published an illustrated digest of its own Marine Accident Report NTSB/MAR-17/01 into the loss of the cargo […]
Shortened lanyard on MOB beacon
What happened? The practice of shortening the lanyards on MOB beacons was discovered by someone visiting a vessel. This was accordingly communicated to the Chief mate to be fixed. If […]
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