Mars Reports 2013
The Nautical Institute has issued Mars Report No 67 regarding a recent accident in which copper sulphide concentrate depleted oxygen resulting in three deaths.
A cargo ship was to discharge a cargo of copper sulphide concentrate and hatch covers of cargo holds No. 1 and No. 3 were opened to that end. Before discharge operations began, the stevedores had a safety meeting and discussed the unloading procedure. The accident report found that oxygen in cargo hold No. 3 was consumed by the copper concentrate through oxidation.
Some of the other findings of the report related to oxygen testing practices by the stevedore company were as follows:
- Measurement locations were not standardised and often O2 concentration at the entrance hatch was not measured.
- If the measured O2 concentration was less than 20.9%, measuring continued until it returned to 20.9%, hence it is not strange that all values in the record book were 20.9%.
- If an entrance permitted notice board was exhibited on entrance hatch, stevedores entered the cargo hold even without permission of the cargo work supervisor.
- The person measuring the O2 concentration did not inform the stevedores of the O2 concentration; the stevedores entered the cargo hold relying on the smell of the cargo and the entrance permitted notice board being displayed.
- Usually, a stevedore was not very aware of the O2 concentration, but trusted the smell of the hold and his intuition.
For more details, please click at Mars Report No 67/2013 – Copper sulphide concentrate depletes oxygen