What happened? A person was killed when there was a catastrophic explosive failure of a corroded fire extinguisher. The incident occurred when the person was discharging a corroded handheld cartridge-type, […]
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
UK HSE: worker fatally injured in oil drum explosion
What happened The UK Health and Safety Executive (HSE) prosecuted a company after a worker was killed when an oil drum exploded during hot work. The incident occurred when an […]
Inhalation of toxic fumes during hot work
What happened Two crew members were exposed to toxic fumes resulting in dizziness, headaches, difficulty in breathing, and low blood oxygen levels. The incident occurred during hot work when thruster […]
UK HSE: Employee in a port suffers life changing injuries in clamp truck incident
The UK Health and Safety Executive (HSE) fined the a port following an incident in which an employee was seriously injured by a clamp truck. [Similar to a forklift, but […]
LTI: Hand injury during diving operations
A member reports a serious hand injury suffered by a diver working in the water on floating hoses at an SPM (single point mooring). Two divers were working on unbolting […]
Learning outcomes from a real time diver recovery
What happened During a saturation diving operation a dive team became involved in the recovery of an incapacitated diver into their bell. Whilst diver recovery drills are practiced frequently, this […]
Crew member thrown to the quay by unplanned movement of small boat
Transport Malta’s Marine Safety Investigation Unit (MSIU) has produced a report into an accident on a tugboat in harbour, which can be found here. What happened What went wrong? Some […]
Britannia P&I Club: double fatality resulting from confined space entry
The Britannia P&I Club, as part of their BSAFE campaign have published a case study into a double fatality resulting from confined or enclosed space entry. What happened A bulk […]
Injuries sustained during maintenance – worker positioning
A member has noted several injuries in the last 6-8 months relating to worker positioning and the use of tools and equipment. A review of these incidents has established a […]
MAIB: Anchor failures
The UK Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) has published Safety Bulletin 1/2021 relating to anchor failures. What happened The COVID-19 pandemic has seen many cruise vessels anchored off the UK’s […]
Flood light dropped to deck – corrosion
A floodlight weighing about 6kg was found on the deck, near to the scaffolding storage area, underneath the main crane boom rest. The flood light affixed to the main crane […]
Two injuries
A member reports two injuries during operations, highlighting the need for continued vigilance and care in everyday activities.
Swedish Club: Lessons learned – crew member loses leg in mooring injury
The Swedish [P&I] Club has recently released a “casebook” containing safety lessons learned from maritime incidents. This useful resource document can be found here: www.swedishclub.com/loss-prevention/cases/case-studies/. One of the case studies […]
Leg injury when struck by rebounding hammer
What happened A crew member was struck on the right lower leg (the shin) by a rebounding hammer. The incident occurred when he was using the hammer to remove a […]
CHIRP Maritime – annual digest for 2020
CHIRP Maritime has published its Annual Digest 2020. It is a flagship publication and contains all the published reports of the previous 12 months as well as various technical articles. […]
Malaria hasn’t gone away
A member reports that in February 2021 one of their personnel had been admitted to the Intensive Care Unit of their local hospital, with confirmed malaria. The individual had recently […]
MSF: wearing and storage of eye protection
The Marine Safety Forum has published Safety Alert 21-05 relating to a recent incident involving safety equipment and its storage. What happened Someone engaged in grinding operations got something in […]
Potential Dropped object from Container
What happened Before backloading a container from rig to vessel, it was noted that there were two metal blocks in the top corner pockets of the container. What went wrong […]
Only a centimetre – an emergency exit hatch blocked by mooring ropes
What happened On a vessel alongside in port, an emergency exit hatch was found to be blocked. A team making a daily inspection tour round the vessel found that they […]
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