This incident occured during bunkering of fresh water. A blocked air pipe caused an overpressure in the tank which led to permanent deformations of the tank.
Incident Information on Fresh Water Tank Damage Caused by Blocked Air Pipe
September 6, 2013 by 1 Comment
Outfitting Related Structural Defects
September 4, 2013 by Leave a Comment
This post is a summary of a Tanker Structure Co-operative Forum (TSCF) paper which reviews the outfitting defects of tankers and provides an analysis on potential causes and repair proposals. Service history of double hull oil tankers has revealed the fact that outfitting details are not to be neglected since about 5 in 6 defects found in the upper deck plate and stiffeners were cracks due to outfitting. Outfitting reinforcements should be considered as part of the ship structure because a failure of this kind of local reinforcement may affect even the primary structure and cause a critical failure.
A Brief History of US Offshore Oil Drilling
September 2, 2013 by Leave a Comment
The BP Deepwater Horizon explosion in April 2010 occurred after a dramatic, three-decade-long reconfiguration of how the United States and several other nations drill for oil. Technology, law, and geology pushed oil exploration farther from U.S. shores, as land-based exploration became less fruitful, and the global demand for energy ramped up. Oil production off American coasts began well over a century ago, but the move into deepwater and ultra-deepwater is a relatively recent phenomenon. This post presents a brief history of offshore oil drilling based on a relevant staff working paper by the National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill.
Incident Information On Bursting of Starting Air Compressor
August 30, 2013 by Leave a Comment
A starting air compressor bursted during running test, throwing pieces of steel all over the engine room. The compressor itself was beyond repairs. Two persons were injured, one of them seriously.
Structure Defects on Double Hull Tankers
August 28, 2013 by Leave a Comment
Double Hull tankers built in the past have experienced certain structural deficiencies. The statistics indicate that a significant number of defects, especially fractures, occurred in double hull tankers less than 10 years old. Information in this post are from a paper on “Structure Defects on Double Hull Tankers” by Philip G. Rynn of ABS, which was presented in Tanker Structure Cooperative Forum (TSCF) 2007 shipbuilding meeting. The statistical data below illustrates the type of defects known to occur in the early double hull tankers by the application of Rules prior to the IACS Common Structural Rules (CSR) and hence where the prior Rules could have been improved.
IMO MSC 92 Decisions Summary
August 27, 2013 by Leave a Comment
IMO’s Maritime Safety Committee (MSC) met at the Organization’s London Headquarters for its 92nd session from 12 to 21 June 2013. Among others the MSC adopted amendments to the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) relating to passenger drills, it also discussed recommendations arising from the Costa Concordia incident and considered matters related to piracy and armed robbery against ships and other items submitted by the IMO sub-committees.
Incident Information Regarding Fire in Engine Room
August 23, 2013 by Leave a Comment
This incident refers to a fire that started in the main engine room of a merchant vessel when at sea. Both main engines were stopped by the crew. The ship had full electrical power supply during the whole event due to separate auxiliary engine room. The crew used CO2 and water to put out the fire, which was finally extinguished after approximately four hours.
Preventing Seafaring Dreams from Turning Into Nightmares
August 22, 2013 by Leave a Comment
Following the official entry into force date of the MLC a few days ago ILO published a very interesting article about the expectations to improve the lives of seafarers. Being a seafarer was a childhood dream for Alex de La Cruz. He was raised in the southern part of the Philippines, where most of his neighbours and relatives were working as seafarers.
PSA Report on Status and Trends for Work Accidents for 2012
August 21, 2013 by Leave a Comment
Last April PSA Norway released its annual report on trends in risk level on the Norwegian shelf (project started in the year 2000). The objective of this annual report is to measure the impact of the industry’s HSE work, to identify any areas that are critical to HSE and to increase insight into potential causes of accidents. In this post we present the results of the report regarding work accidents involving fatalities and serious personnel injuries.
MV Thomas Aquinas Ferry Collision with Cargo Ship
August 20, 2013 by Leave a Comment
Last Friday MV Thomas Aquinas sank after it collided with cargo ship Sulpicio Express 7, off the central port of Cebu in Philippines, 1.2 miles (2km ) from the shore. The ferry was carrying approximately 715 passengers and 116 crew. Crrently at least 600 survivors have been rescued.
Officer of the Watch 