The US Government Accountability Office (GAO) issued a report, according to which persistent and substantial delays in vessel maintenance threaten the U.S. Navy’s ability to sustain readiness. The delays are an expense, leading to increased costs, with GAO estimating that the Navy spent more than $1.5 billion in support costs from FY 2008-2018 due to delayed maintenance for its attack submarines alone.
Classification Society ClassNK has concluded a joint research agreement for developing advanced condition-based maintenance (CBM); a new maintenance and management system to be used for the machineries of autonomous ships, as well as to further establish a new classification survey scheme based on CBM.
1st January of 2020 marks the beginning for many regulatory updates for shipping. One of them is the new IMO requirements for the maintenance, examination, operational testing, overhaul and repair of lifeboats and rescue boats; the following article outlines key changes to assist operators in effective compliance with new requirements.
The Marine Safety Forum published safety alert describing a rescue boat davit failure during the boat’s periodic launch and testing. There were no injuries as a result of the incident, which was attributed to the good practice of lowering the rescue boat unmanned.
In its latest Safety Flashes, IMCA presented a case of water ingress which caused a crew boat to list, while in its first voyage after drydocking. IMCA noted there was no post-drydock maintenance inspection or dedicated testing to ensure that everything done in drydock was done properly.
The Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) Maritime Administrator informed that it is currently conducting a marine safety investigation of a fatality that occurred when the extension of the lower maintenance platform for one of the ship’s provision cranes detached and fell 8-9 meters.
In an exclusive interview with SAFETY4SEA at Nor-Shipping, Oslo, Mr. Baba Devani, Managing Director of Marine Operations at SURVITEC, discussed the need for owners and operators to emphasize on quality of safety equipment to ensure true compliance and safety performance. Safety, Mr. Devani argued, is way more than just obtaining a certificate.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) issued an investigation report on a barge breakaway incident in the Ohio River which caused an estimated $12.5 million damage and an unknown release of coal and cement into the water.
The Japan P&I Club published the results on the condition surveys that were carried out during the 2018 policy year. The aim of the survey is to maintain the standard of vessel’s management and seaworthiness above a certain level. For 2019, the Club informed that the most common defects are related to: Hatch covers; Engine room machinery; and Oil spill prevention.
DNV GL launched a revised Recommended Practice (RP) that contains a new approach for assurance of non-class equipment and systems during recommissioning. When the market moves back from a downturn, vessels are leaving the lay-up buoys and the focus shifts from preservation to recommissioning.
