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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.

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All members are encouraged to contribute relevant safety-related information – please visit our Safety Flash Reporting page for details on the submission process.

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Nicholas Hough
Consultant - Safety and Security
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PP3 9V battery explosion

A member has reported an incident in which a PP3 9-volt battery exploded. A loud bang was heard on the vessel bridge. Initially the noise was believed to be a […]

| Included in IMCA Safety Flash 25/16



Near-miss: Welding in ‘no hot work’ zone

A member has reported a near miss incident in which welding was discovered which had clearly taken place in a ‘no hot work’ zone. The welding was discovered during pre-sail […]

| Included in IMCA Safety Flash 24/16

Fatal engine room fire on suction dredger Arco Avon

The UK Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) has published a report into a fatal fire in the engine room of the suction dredger, Arco Avon, in August 2015. A fire […]

| Included in IMCA Safety Flash 24/16

Working at height – Use of wooden handled hammers

A member has drawn to IMCA’s attention a number of incidents involving the use at height of wooden handled hammers. All of these incidents involved the hammer head separating from […]

| Included in IMCA Safety Flash 23/16

Dropped object – Failure of split head elbow on bolts

A member has reported two failures of bolts on the split head elbow resulting in two dropped object incidents this year and similar incidents in recent years. During pipelay operations, […]

| Included in IMCA Safety Flash 23/16


High potential near-miss: Dropped object

A member has reported a high potential dropped object near miss incident. The incident occurred in a workshop location ashore. A section of metal panelling, which weighed 5.6kg, came loose […]

| Included in IMCA Safety Flash 23/16

Dropped pallet during loading of stores

A member has reported an incident in which a pallet shed its load during lifting operations, resulting in 900kg of groceries falling 7m to the deck below. The incident occurred […]

| Included in IMCA Safety Flash 23/16

Crewman badly scalded during tank cleaning

Seahealth.DK has circulated a report of an incident during tank cleaning in which a crewman was badly scalded, receiving first and second degree burns over a third of his body. […]

| Included in IMCA Safety Flash 22/16

Lifting bridle snagged – Failure to “stop the job”

The MSF has published the following safety alert regarding lifting during cargo operations. A Platform Supply Vessel (PSV) was working alongside an offshore installation carrying out cargo operations, which included […]

| Included in IMCA Safety Flash 22/16

Potential dropped object during cargo offloading operations

The MSF has published a safety alert regarding a potential dropped object. Following cargo offloading operations from a vessel to an offshore platform, the platform crew notified the vessel that […]

| Included in IMCA Safety Flash 22/16

Near-miss during cable handling – Standing in the bight

A member has reported a near miss potential ‘line of fire’ incident during cable handling operations in which a member of the deck crew stood close to a heavy duty […]

| Included in IMCA Safety Flash 22/16

Confined space fatality – Sharp Lady

The Isle of Man Ship Registry has published Casualty Investigation Report No. CA118 on a confined space entry fatality that occurred on a crude tanker. The incident occurred after discharging […]

| Included in IMCA Safety Flash 22/16

Load chain failure owing to corrosion

UK Step Change in Safety has published a bulletin regarding two incidents in which there were failures of load chains owing to corrosion. These occurred during the installation operations of […]

| Included in IMCA Safety Flash 21/16

Hyperbaric lifeboat emergency lifting chain link failure

A member has reported an incident in which a chain parted during the recovery of a hyperbaric lifeboat (HLB) during ‘routine’ testing and maintenance. On recovery of the HLB the […]

| Included in IMCA Safety Flash 21/16

Lifting sling failure on freefall lifeboat

Lifting Sling Failure on Freefall Lifeboat The Transport Accident Investigation Commission of New Zealand (TAIC) has published a report on an incident in which there was a lifting sling failure […]

| Included in IMCA Safety Flash 21/16

Mast head securing wire parted

A member has reported an incident in which one of the wire stays securing a mast head, parted. A deck officer on watch heard a loud metal banging sound on […]

| Included in IMCA Safety Flash 21/16

Proper care of oxy-acetylene cutting and welding equipment

A member has noted a number of incidents resulting in fires caused by perished hoses and flashbacks involving oxy-acetylene cutting equipment, and has shared the following information with IMCA for […]

| Included in IMCA Safety Flash 21/16

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