The UK Health & Safety Executive (UK HSE) publishes regular press releases relating to safety incidents. These can be found on the HSE website. IMCA monitors these publications and passes […]
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
Rodent caused short circuiting of 440v bus bar
What happened? A fire alarm was traced to the emergency generator room. A rodent had found its way into an emergency switchboard cabinet, causing a 440V short circuit, sparks and […]
Accidental drinking of thinners stored in mineral water bottle
What happened? A trainee ETO took a sip from a mineral water bottle in the engine room workshop. It contained thinners rather than water. The bottle was kept in the […]
Unapproved repair of diver gas supply umbilical
What happened? A diver umbilical assembly was recently returned from a diving support vessel (DSV) to a shore-based workshop, as it was no longer required. During the demobilisation of the […]
Helicopter navigation experienced magnetic interference
What happened? On a normal (passenger) crew change flight in an AW169 helicopter, crew noticed a “1-2 AHRS FAIL” caution displayed in the crew alert system shortly after departure from […]
USCG: the role of main propulsion lube oil system in the loss of the El Faro
The United States Coast Guard (USCG) has distributed Marine Safety Alert 04-18 “Compliance with SOLAS and USCG Regulations for Operation of Main Propulsion and Essential Auxiliary Machinery: Lessons Learned from […]
Two potential dropped objects (Marine Safety Forum)
The MSF have published two safety alerts relating to potential dropped objects from cargo operations. Incident 1: Missing protection cover becomes high potential dropped object Vessel crew found a twist […]
Near miss: potential dropped objects on a temporary buoys (TBMs)
What happened? A member has reported two near miss incidents involving potential dropped objects. The objects were left on top of a temporary buoyancy module (TBM) during the installation of […]
High potential near miss: worker inadvertently lifted by crane (Marine Safety Forum)
What happened? The Marine Safety Forum (MSF) have released Safety Alert 18-07, which shows that during routine operations using a platform crane to transfer a bulk hose between a platform […]
Uncontrolled movement of a riser
What happened? A riser moved unexpectedly away from the vessel. The incident occurred during the deployment of a production riser from a hang-off frame located starboard aft. All rigging had […]
Corrosion cracking of strain-hardened type 304 stainless steel bolts
What happened? The International Association of Oil & Gas Producers (IOGP) has published Safety Alert #297 relating to the unexpected failure of certain kinds of strain-hardened Type 304 stainless steel […]
Vessel made contact with rig legs
What happened? A vessel came into contact with the legs of a rig – however, there was no damage to the vessel. The incident occurred when the vessel was moving […]
Vessel ran aground following error on chart
What happened A vessel ran aground whilst leaving a channel on the approach to a port. The vessel was making around 4.5 knots, and grounded by the stern in the […]
Edges and ledges – a slip on deck resulted in injury
What happened A crewman slipped on a step grating and twisted his ankle. The incident happened as he stepped through a hatch on his way to a job. Initially he […]
Incorrectly selected oxygen welding gas hose bursts & catches fire
What happened? The ship’s welder opened the Oxygen and Acetylene gas bottle valves in order to do a cutting job on deck. These gas bottles were attached to the vessel’s […]
Load fell from trailer after it was inadequately secured
Two articulated lorries with 20′ trailers were organised to move equipment, including lifeboat davits, a power-pack, winches and sheave blocks, from one location to another. The first trailer was loaded […]
Missing protection cover becomes potential dropped object
The Marine Safety Forum (MSF) reports a near miss incident in which a small protective cover was lost from the deck of a vessel, and was later found in the […]
Worker hit by steel plate falling from crane
What happened? The UK Health & Safety Executive (UK HSE) reports that a company has been fined after an employee was injured when he was struck by a steel plate […]
BSEE: potentially catastrophic crane and lifting incidents
What happened? The United States’ Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) has published Safety Alert no. 329 relating to four recent safety incidents involving cranes and lifting devices: While […]
Dropped object – intermediate bulk container (IBC)
What happened? An intermediate bulk container (IBC) was dropped from a crane to deck. The incident occurred when a vessel crane was being used with a certified lifting device to […]
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