"Μέγα τὸ τῆς Θαλάσσης Κράτος" - "Great is the Sea's Power", Pericles 495-429 b.c.
This incident refers to an accident where during an operation of washing down a cargo hold from inside the hold, two crew members were injured when they were thrown from the top platform of the scaffolding rigged on the inner bottom in the cargo hold. One of the crew members was slightly injured and the other lost consciousness for a relatively long period. The protracted loss of consciousness was subsequently attributed to brain injury.
This incident information refers to ingress of water in immersion suits as a result of deteriorated glue. During survey for renewal of the Safety Equipment Certificate it was observed leakage on some of the immersion suits. The zipper had become detached from the suit in various places. The same was found at the connection of gloves to the suit. The immersion suits were estimated to be less than 10 years old.
On lowering the starboard lifeboat during preparation for survey on behalf of a Maritime administration, the forward attachment to the davit snapped when the lifeboat was lowered. The lifeboat remained hanging vertically by the aft wire only. The aft deck of the lifeboat was found to be fractured in way of the connection to the falls.
Last December a very interesting article has been posted in ATSB’s Blog In Focus by Martin Dolan, Chief Commissioner of ATSB addressing the fact that investigation reports aim in identifying what went wrong in an incident and not to play the role of a judge. According to Martin Dolan it is not a function of the ATSB to apportion blame or determine liability. At the same time, an investigation report must include factual material of sufficient weight to support the analysis and findings.
At the 23rd meeting of the Port State Control Committee in Singapore last month, the Memorandum of Understanding on Port State Control in the Asia-Pacific Region (Tokyo MOU) decided to introduce a New Inspection Regime (NIR) for selection of ships from 1 January 2014.
The direct cost of an engine room fire can be in the range of 1–4 million USD for a cargo vessel and much more for a passenger vessel. Off-hire and loss of goodwill adds to this figure and is perhaps the most difficult asset to replace. Engine room fires also represent a hazard for crew members working in that area and fire fighters.
Fire safety on board ships is still serious concern. Recent events have demonstrated that a fire on board a ship can be potentially devastating and can seriously affect the safety of those on board. Preliminary results from the Concentrated Inspection Campaign (CIC) on Fire Safety Systems, carried out between 1 September 2012 and 30 November 2012 in the Paris MoU region show important trends on the current situation onboard merchant vessels.
The tsunami that ravaged northeast Japan in March 2011 created the biggest single dumping of rubbish, sweeping some five million tonnes of shattered buildings, cars, household goods and other rubble into the sea. According to Japanese estimates about three-and-a-half million tonnes, sank immediately, leaving some 1.5 million tonnes of plastic, timber, fishing nets, shipping containers, industrial scrap and innumerable other objects to float deeper into the ocean.
During routine inspection of the chain locker with chain on board a stern trawler, one member of an inspection team fainted during the inspection and died shortly after. A second member fainted during the rescue operation, but recovered. This incident onboard a 700 GRT stern Trawler in 1998.
When boarding the ship, the PSCO immediately noticed clear grounds for a more detailed inspection of the ship’s safety standard and general condition. The PSCO found that the maintenance of especially the accommodation and the ship’s deck areas were so poor that the ship should be considered substandard.
Photo credit: Shipspotting
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