Company reporting procedure was activated and all parties were informed
The Nautical Institute has issued Mars Report on an accident where minor spill reported to highlight that even though the spill was very minor, the company reporting procedure was activated and all parties were informed – even MARS! This is a sign that the company’s safety culture is alive and well.
A laden tanker encountered heavy weather during the Pacific Ocean passage. Pre-arrival checks of the discharge ports were completed including pressure testing of all three cargo lines.
Once arrived at the lightering area, the lightering vessel was berthed alongside the tanker and the cargo hoses connected. At one point during cargo transfer operations, drops of oil were seen leaking from the dresser coupling of number two cargo line.
Cargo operations were stopped and clean-up operations carried out. Oil was contained in a catch-all below the dresser coupling area (total quantity spilled was less than one litre). The dresser coupling from the leaking area was tightened and the cargo line was isolated and drained.
The discharging operation continued with the two remaining lines without any further incident.
After investigation, the company suspected that isolated flexing of the dresser coupling may have occurred during the heavy weather passage. This was not apparent during testing.
A hazard occurrence report was produced as per the company’s SMS requirements and closed out by management. An oil spill drill was carried out including simulation of reporting procedures to all parties concerned.
Source: Nautical Institute
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The Mariners’ Alerting and Reporting Scheme (MARS) is primarily a confidential reporting system run by The Nautical Institute to allow full reporting of accidents (and near misses) without fear of identification or litigation. As a free service to the industry, MARS reports also regularly comprise alerts condensed from official industry sources, so that issues resulting from recent incidents can be efficiently relayed to the mariner on board. With access to the internet from vessels becoming more affordable, the MARS database is a valuable risk assessment, work planning, loss prevention tool and training aid for crew and management. MARS reports are held in a publicly-accessible database and can be accessed by clicking on the link below: Contact the Editor of MARS at[email protected] |
