What happened A member highlights two instances of fire-fighting equipment not being in an appropriate condition. Blocked sprinklers and nozzles It was observed that the nozzles of the fire main […]
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
Wrong key for the CO2 room
What happened During a weekly inspection it was revealed that the key for the CO2 fixed firefighting system compartment, which was stored in a break glass box adjacent to the […]
Near Miss – Damaged Rig Hose
What happened A vessel was engaged in routine operations receiving contaminated oil-based mud from a rig. Upon disconnecting the rig hose and vessel side coupling it was discovered that the […]
UK HSE: Poorly maintained electrical installation caused fatality
The UK Health and Safety Executive prosecuted a warehouse management solutions company after an employee was fatally electrocuted while servicing electrical equipment. What went wrong? Investigation found that: Control measures […]
Damaged Electrical Cable
What happened? During a washdown of a vessel’s cargo hold a crew member noticed arcing from around two electrical cables near the cargo hold light. Upon closer investigation he noticed […]
Crane contact with pipelay tower resulting in dropped object
What happened A crane made contact with a pipelay tower handrail during a routine lifting operation, resulting in a serious dropped object event. There were no injuries. The incident occurred […]
NOPSEMA: person injured in chain hoist incident
The National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority (NOPSEMA) of Australia has published Safety Alert #73 relating to an incident on an offshore facility where members of the workforce […]
Dropped object – unexpected release of spool
What happened? During offshore installation activities there was an unexpected release of the load resulting in it falling to the seabed. The incident occurred during the relocation of a spool […]
Lifting complex loads – offloading third party equipment
What happened? As it was being lifted off a vessel, a cherry picker (a movable hydraulic crane with a railed platform used to raise or lower personnel) tipped over, causing […]
LTI – ankle injury caused during lifting operations
What happened During slewing of the crane during a jacket lifting operation the jacket started rotating. The rigging crew used a steering line in an attempt to stop the jacket […]
Wear a life-jacket!! (MAIB)
The UK Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) has published an instructive and useful account of a recent man overboard exercise, which is summarised below for members. Lifejackets: hold an honest […]
All of a sudden – “this is not a drill” – person injured during a drill
The Marine Safety Forum have published Safety Alert 21-12 relating to a person who was injured as a result of being suspended in a safety harness during a rescue at […]
UK HSE: Oil company fined for hydrocarbon release – lack of written procedures
What happened The UK Health & Safety Executive (HSE) has prosecuted an oil company after they failed to provide written safety procedures for the depressurisation of an oil well, which […]
Step Change in Safety – Major Accident Hazard (MAH) Awareness
Step Change in Safety have published a safety moment or “mini alerts pack” on Major Accident Hazard (MAH) Awareness. It can be downloaded here. The major accidents covered include: Chevron […]
US Coast Guard: Wire rope terminations
The United States Coast Guard (USCG) has issued Marine Safety Alert 04-21 relating to wire rope terminations. The Safety Alert addresses the importance of verifying the condition and manufacturing of […]
Fault in high voltage equipment
What happened A serious fault was discovered in high voltage (-5600 V) equipment; the fault caused sparks to be observed across the high voltage terminals. Portable seismic survey “sparker” equipment […]
MAIB: Grounding of general cargo vessel Kaami
The UK Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) has published Accident Investigation Report 7/2021 into the running aground of a cargo vessel in March 2020. What went wrong? The MAIB investigation […]
Descending Stairs Safely
On one of our members’ vessels, an observation was raised relating to the hazards associated with steep stairs. The subject is worthy of a timely reminder for us all. There […]
Acetylene quad fire on quayside
What happened A member reports an acetylene gas quad fire which occurred on the quayside. No injuries occurred during the event. The incident occurred during a project vessel demobilisation when […]
COBRA bailout system – guidance note
What happened Users have reported blistering and flaking of the lacquer on the cylinder exterior, and premature, excessive corrosion on the exposed aluminium at the cylinder neck, as seen in […]
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