Working aloft is risky and a supervisor should be appointed to act as a lookout for the crew member who perform such tasks, the Gard P&I Club warned. The Club’s claims database for the last 10 years shows that 5% of all falls from heights have resulted in fatalities and is one of the top 5 leading causes for fatalities onboard.
The Gard P&I Club reported that over a ten year period between 2009-2018, a 25%of all the crew accidents were finger and hand injuries related. Based on the Club’s portofolio, the data presented that ratings are nearly twice as likely to suffer from such injuries in comparison to the officers.
The Gard P&I Club informed it has handled numerous cargo claims over the last years, where condensation was found to be the contributory cause of cargo damage. When dealing with such claims, the Club advises, the voyage records of the hold ventilations play a central role in mitigating the claim.
Over the last five policy years, 2014 to 2018, 18% of all pollution incidents handled by Gard Club claims teams have been caused by bunker spills, with an average cost per incident in excess of USD 100,000. But what is the cause of these incidents?
As Gard informs, in a significant number of collisions, the club has found that the majority of mariners do not reduce speed to avoid a collision. However, it notes that in case there is a potential for collision, reducing speed can have many benefits.
Today, 14 November is World Diabetes Day. Gard’s Christina Tsouni, Claims Executive, Piraeus and Alice Jackson Amundsen, Vice President, Arendal, join in the effort to raise the awareness among their readers of the risks of the disease, particularly to seafarers, and recommendations for life-style changes that can reduce these risks.
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Container fires may now be occurring on a weekly basis and in Gard’s experience most are associated with cargo misdeclaration. However just as with tackling the fire itself, tackling misdeclaration is a significant industry challenge. Thus, Mark Russell, Vice President, Head of Cargo Claims in London and Charmaine Chu, Claims Executive in Hong Kong discuss the severity of cargo misdeclaration and the impact it has in the shipping market.
In the following article, Capt. Siddharth Mahajan, Loss Prevention Executive Asia, Singapore, at the Gard P&I Club, discusses challenges associated with the use of scrubbers as one of the two most popular options for compliance with IMO 2020 and shares preventive recommendations for scrubber-related breakdowns.
According to IMO, exhaust gas scrubbers are a compliant method to reduce vessels’ sulphur emissions and ensuring compliance with MARPOL Annex VI. Yet, some coastal states and ports have implemented local regulations with stricter measures that either restrict or prohibit the discharge of washwater from open loop scrubbers or prohibit the use of scrubbers, according to Gard.
