Tag: safety measures

Interactive timeline explores innovations in maritime safety

Italy-based classification society RINA has launched a major ferry safety initiative

Those involved in risky operations must ensure everyone stays alert The UK MAIB has issued itsSafety Digest including lessons learnt from maritime accidents. One case refers to a fatal accident during container removal.Containers were being discharged from inside the main vehicle deck of a ro-ro cargo ship. A crewman and a fork-lift truck driver were working together to move the containers from their storage positions onto trailers for transfer ashore. The crewman's job was twofold: to remove the twistlocks from the underside of containers before they were loaded onto trailers and also to remove twistlocks left behind on the deck to prevent them obstructing vehicles' tyres.Having lifted a 40 foot container from the top of another, the fork-lift driver moved his vehicle backwards and lowered the container. This improved the vehicle's stability but severely limited his visibility ahead. At the same time, the crewman moved forward to remove an underslung twistlock from the suspended container.Expecting the vehicle to continue its movement away from him, the crewman then turned round, facing away from the vehicle, and started removing redundant twistlocks from the deck. However, the fork-lift truck driver, who could not see the crewman, started to steer his vehicle to avoid ...

Interview with Fred Jacobs, Non-Executive Chairman, Maersk South Africa

Need for close examination and non-destructively tests for possible fractures The Republic of the Marshall Islands issued a Marine Safety Advisory to advise inspectors, masters and owners/ agents that fractures have been identified during routine maintenance on a freefall lifeboat lifting sling ring.It is recommended that the lifting sling arrangement on all freefall lifeboats be closely examined and non-destructively tested for possible fractures.If fractures are found, the lifting sling arrangement should immediately be taken out of service and the defective part renewed.While the capability to retrieve the lifeboat is not available, additional safety measures should be put in place relative to operational readiness and drills and all should be properly recorded in the vessel log books.Source & Image Credit: RMI

Raising awareness of potential hazards at sea Image: Example provided for the Safety on the Bridge pictureIn an initiative to raise awareness of potential hazards at sea, The Standard Club and the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) have joined forces to launch a Spot the Hazard competition open to any seafarer worldwide. With USD$10,000 of prize money, the competition has been designed to help those working at sea identify hazards and to promote the critical importance of accident prevention. Seafarers entering the competition will be asked to identify hazards shown on a series of images depicting typical scenes on board ship. Seafarers are also invited to submit a safety idea relevant to the image1 that can be shared throughout the industry. In order to ensure that seafarers from all ship departments and of all ranks can enter the competition, it features five separate images: the bridge, engine room, main-deck, galley and a port terminal scene. (These have been developed with the kind assistance of Witherby Publishing Group.)The instructions for entry into the competition have also been translated into Spanish, Portuguese, Tagalog, Hindi and Mandarin. Seafarers can submit entries for as many of the five images as they wish, with the ...

Focus on proper anchor use, stowage, and maintenance The U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) issued Safety Alert to remind vessel operators and company technical managers of the importance of proper ships anchor use, stowage, and maintenance.Anchor windlass brakes, riding pawls, and devils claws must be used as designed and periodically maintained to ensure effectiveness and safety. Its critical that proper supervision and inspection be conducted during and after anchoring, retrieving and storage evolutions, and maintenance activities. When installing a replacement anchor, it must meet the vessels technical specifications and fit correctly when housed.Recently, a freight ship was underway in 15 foot seas when the forepeak flood alarms activated. The crew investigated and discovered the starboard anchor had slipped 10-15 links, causing it to strike and puncture the hull. As a result, seawater flooded the bow thruster and emergency fire pump compartment. The casualty resulted in excess of $1 million in vessel damage and a months lost revenues while the vessel was out of service affecting repairs.During the repair period, it was discovered that the anchor windlass brake pad had worn down to 2- 3mm thickness. With only this amount of pad the fully applied brake could not achieve its designed holding ...

The CyClaDes project has produced guidelines on the design of mooring decks for the safety of mooring deck operations

Strengthening position as safest major flag The Liberian Registry has developed a unique satellite-based Compliance Assistance Programme (CAP) which has helped ensure regulatory compliance and prevent detentions in some of the world's most active Port State Control (PSC) areas. In the process, it has contributed to Liberia being named as the best-performing major ship registry worldwide over the last three years, a period during which it has featured on all PSC White Lists and has been included in the prestigious US Qualship 21 programme. Moreover, during this same period, the Paris Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) statistics confirm that Liberia had the best detention rate amongst the largest major flag states.The development further strengthens the leading role which Liberia has established over a number of years as the world's most technologically innovative flag state. The CAP tracks ships when they enter selected jurisdictions and allows the registry's risk analysis team to perform detailed reviews of vessels, their history, and the ports at which they are calling. As a result, Liberian vessels have experienced a decrease in detentions in heavily trafficked PSC regions such as China.The CAP supplements the existing electronic services already provided by Liberia and is part of a program ...

New DNV GL study projects regulatory futures; more must be done to reduce major accidents