Tag: fumigation

Gard Club released a safety alert, providing its safety recommendations over fumigant gasses leaking from cargo holds.

As part of its recently launched casebook containing safety lessons learned from maritime incidents, the Swedish Club describes a case of multiple explosions onboard a bulk carrier, caused by fumigation. 

Standard Club recently informed that Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate Services (KEPHIS) are ordering fumigation of all vessels arriving from South American ports where any traces of infestation, however small, are found.

The UK P&I Club’s correspondents in Brazil, Representacoes Proinde Ltda, issued a Practical Guidance entitled Loading Soya Beans in Brazil, highlighting the risks arising and what to be aware of during the operations.

Following the pandemic and its travel bans, fumigators are unable to sail with the vessel. Therefore, ship operators and crew, who do not have the necessary expertise to handle toxic materials, are exposed to a risky operational environment, Standard Club noted.

The Bahamas Maritime Authority highlight the risks associated with in-transit cargo fumigation. The authority's recommendations are based on the initial findings of an ongoing investigation into a very serious marine casualty.

A malfunction in the fumigation hatch caused an explosion onboard the Liberian-flagged bulk carrier 'Minoan Glory' while anchored off Vancouver, in the early afternoon hours of 6 August. There was a lot of sound and fury, but there were no injuries. 

As the Swedish Club informs, a bulk carrier had loaded yellow corn in all cargo holds up to the hatch coamings. After the loading, fumigation technicians fumigated the cargo with fumitoxin pellets. A couple of hours later an explosion took place in one of the holds. The fumigant pellets in each hold had not been distributed across the entire cargo surface, or applied to the subsurface.

Fumigants are chemicals which, under certain conditions, will enter a gaseous state and, in sufficient concentration, will be lethal to pest organisms that are considered detrimental for the condition of most grain cargoes. But under which circumstances can fumigation take place?

When a fire breaks out on board a vessel there is no fire service ready to assist in extinguishing it – it is up to the crew themselves. The Swedish P&I Club issued a new guide for quick reference to the causes and prevention of cargo fires and explosion onboard.