What happened? A crewman was injured when there was an uncontrolled and unplanned closure of a fire flap. The crewman was filling an expansion tank through the engine room ventilation […]
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
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Two incidents with electrical installations with potential for a fire
A member reported two incidents involving failure of electrical equipment, leading to, or potentially leading to, fire hazards. Incident 1: Earth fault and potential fire hazard What happened? Whilst fault-finding […]
Cabin fire caused by light fitting overheating
What happened? A vessel experienced a minor fire in the bathroom of an unoccupied cabin due to a light fixture failing/shorting. A crew member who was resting in another cabin […]
Fires and fire risks on vessels
Fire in incinerator and exhaust fan motor What happened? An incinerator was being routinely operated by its designated operator. After the last garbage parcel was inserted into the chamber, the […]
Crane hydraulic hose caught on protruding grease fitting
What happened? While retracting the outer jib of the boom during crane operations, one of the hydraulic hoses caught on the protruding grease fitting of the boom bearings, which could […]
Crushed finger injury during wire transfer operations
What happened? Able seamen were assisting with overboarding an ROV hook (connected to the lower drum tow wire) over the stern of the vessel until it could run freely on […]
Fire in the engine room
What happened A vessel suffered a fire in the engine room. The incident occurred after the vessel was leaving port during the hours of darkness in calm weather. The vessel […]
Engine room fire – a small rag left after maintenance
What happened There was a small fire in the engine room of a large multi-engined vessel. Work had been carried out the previous night to replace a sheared bolt on […]
Inadvertent activation of condensed aerosol fire extinguishing system leads to a fatality
What happened The UK Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) has issued Safety Bulletin SB1/2020 highlighting a potentially serious hazard, associated with condensed aerosol firefighting suppressant particles after a fatal accident […]
LTI: worker lost his thumb
What happened? During drilling operations, a worker got his thumb caught under a part of a drill being lowered into position, resulting in the amputation of the thumb just above […]
Fire in engine room and subsequent collision with structure on transport barge
What happened? During the tow of a structure to location, a fire occurred in the engine room of the tow tug. This led to a blackout resulting in a collision […]
Chain hoist failure resulting in a serious near miss
What happened? During maintenance of a vessel’s main engine there was a requirement to remove the charge air cooler weighing 400kg. The third-party contractor who was tasked with the maintenance […]
Damage and engine room flooding following contact by tugboat
What happened? A vessel suffered damage to the hull and engine room flooding due to contact with a tugboat during berthing. One of two tugs lost manoeuvrability and bumped into […]
Water ingress during tropical storm
What happened? A vessel took on a significant amount of rainwater on the upper tween deck during an intense tropical storm. At the time of the storm, the forward crane […]
Battery fire with subsequent gas explosion: Warning about lithium-ion power following ferry fire
What happened The Norwegian Maritime Authority or Sjofartsdirektoratet has published an alert concerning a small fire that erupted in the battery room onboard the MF Ytterøyningen passenger ferry. Firefighting started […]
For want of a watchman the ship was lost
What happened? The United States Coast Guard (USCG) has published Marine Safety Alert 07-19 entitled ‘For want of a watchman the ship was lost’. It tells the story of a […]
Listing of crew boat due to water ingress
What happened? During her first voyage after drydocking, a crew boat started to list. A bilge alarm signal was received on the bridge, informing that there was water inside starboard […]
Accidental activation of emergency stop during saturation diving operations
What happened? Emergency stop buttons were accidently activated on a vessel engaged in Saturation Diving Operations in the 500m Zone. This caused the Starboard Voith Schneider Propulsion (VSP) System to […]
Smouldering coiled extension cable
What happened? While ventilating a manhole in the engine room, the fire alarm was triggered when an electrical extension lead overheated, melting the insulation and started smouldering. What went wrong? […]
Main engine turbocharger lagging on fire
What happened? The duty engineer noticed smoke and fire coming from a main engine turbocharger lagging. The bridge was informed immediately and the starboard main engine control was transferred to […]
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