The International Marine Contractors Association (IMCA) published 29 Safety Flashes covering a total of 136 incidents through 2018, the Association said in a new Information Note. Delivered regularly throughout the year, IMCA’s Safety Flash system seeks to improve safety performance in the offshore industry, by sharing lessons learned.
The data of reported incidents in 2018 show several trends:
- 10% were ‘near misses’;
- 10% were the result of equipment failure;
- In 7% of cases, people suffered hand or finger injuries;
- Eight involved fires: Two of these were laundry fires, and three fires related to the inappropriate management of Lithium-ion batteries; and
- In three, injuries were sustained by persons transferring from one vessel to another whilst offshore.
The 116 of the 136 incidents reported in the Safety Flashes came from IMCA members; the remainder were from government bodies, regulators and trade associations, including the Marine Safety Forum.
The Safety Flash system is an important method to learn from the experience of others. We encourage everyone in the industry to take-part and report incidents. This influences industry safety awareness,
…Nick Hough, IMCA’s Technical Adviser for Health, Safety, Security & Environment, said.
