What happened? A diver suffered an injury when his finger got caught between the top of the bell door and the retaining latch. Â The incident occurred at the end of […]
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
Potential interference of VHF-FM radio and AIS reception
The United States Coast Guard (USCG) have published Safety Alert 13-18, regarding numerous reports on poor reception of VHF frequencies used for radiotelephone, digital selective calling (DSC) and automatic identification […]
Release of stored energy from coiled superloops
What happened? A release of stored energy from a coiled superloop resulted in an injury to the person uncoiling the superloop. The member reporting this notes that this is the […]
Incorrectly weighted Monkey’s Fist
The Marine Safety Forum (MSF) have published Safety Alert 18-22 in which a ‘monkey’s fist’ had been thrown ashore during a mooring process. A quayside boatman reported his concerns on […]
Pallet failure: High potential dropped object during lifting operations
What happened? A wooden pallet broke whilst it was being lifted during mobilisation, causing its load to fall to deck. There was no injury to personnel nor was there any […]
OCIMF: Pilot ladder side rope failure: Unsafe pilot transfer
What happened? During the disembarkation of two pilots from a condensate tanker, the right anterior side rope of a pilot ladder failed. The structural durability of the ladder was visually […]
Electrician received electric shock from a bare cable
What happened? An electrician received an electric shock whilst running a new cable through an existing cable tray. While retrieving the cable, his hand touched the bare end of live […]
Snagged lift during deck cargo operations
The Marine Safety Forum (MSF) have published Safety Alert 18-19, in which a hoisted 10ft container became snagged on the bridle of a backloaded tote tank. A ‘stop stop stop’ […]
Grinding using a cutting disc
What happened? Seamen were grinding sea-fastening spots in the hold, and one of them made a complaint to the Chief Officer about the quality of the grinding discs, they could […]
Robbery at anchor – vessel security
What happened? A members’ vessel was robbed whilst at anchor. The incident occurred in Indonesian waters, in the hours of darkness, some three hours after anchoring. The duty officer, whilst […]
Electric Arc Incident
What happened? During a vessel mobilisation a control cabin for an electric ROV was being installed and commissioned. The cabin’s internal main electrical power cable arced, tripping the vessel’s power […]
Recurring Hand Injury
The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) has published Safety Alert No. 336 regarding a hand injury sustained during lifting procedures. During a slow lifting process to remove a […]
Fatal Traffic Accident on Board a Large Vessel
What happened? A member reported a fatal incident which occurred on a large Ro-Ro vessel during loading operations. A trailer loaded with two large wooden boxes drove down the ramp […]
Serious Injury from Rotating Winch
What happened? A person involved in spooling a wire onto the main crane forward tugger winch drum suffered a serious foot injury. To facilitate the operation, he positioned himself in […]
Lost Time Injury (LTI): Fall on Staircase
What happened? A crewman on a vessel lost his balance going down some stairs and fell, resulting in a fractured ankle. His foot got caught in a gap as he […]
High Potential Near Miss: Line of Fire During Mooring Operations
What happened? A seafarer was caught in the line of fire and temporarily trapped by a mooring line, but fortunately escaped without serious injury. During the mooring of an offshore […]
Seamanship: Vessel Collision with Fishing Boat
What happened? A vessel was in collision with a fishing boat. The incident occurred in foggy, zero visibility conditions on a ballast voyage. Our members’ vessel was passing through some […]
Inadequate maintenance and securing arrangements of emergency exit hatches
What happened? The port side emergency exit to deck from the steering gear room failed to open during an inspection by shore-side management. In addition, inappropriate locking arrangements (bolt with […]
Control module failure caused main engine sudden reduction to idle speed
What happened? An offshore support vessel (OSV) was underway to field loaded with cargo when a sudden drop of starboard main engine RPM was observed. The main engine dialog screen […]
Costly damage to azimuth thruster caused by fishing gear
What happened? A vessel equipped with two azimuth thrusters, was performing operations alongside an offshore platform, when inappropriate vibrations were noted from the starboard azimuth thrusters and its hydraulic pump. […]
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