Tag: UK MAIB

Lessons learned The UK MAIB has issued Safety Bulletin regarding mooring line failure on board LNG carrier Zarga which resulted in serious injury.The accidentOn 2 March 2015, a deck officer on board the LNG tanker, Zarga, suffered severe head injuries when he was struck by a mooring line that parted during a berthing operation at the South Hook LNG terminal, Milford Haven. The officer, who was in charge of the vessel's forward mooring party, was airlifted to a specialist head injuries trauma unit for emergency surgery.Zarga was declared all fast alongside about 40 minutes prior to the accident and the attending tugs were let go. The vessel subsequently moved out of position in the gusty wind conditions during which time the mooring teams were fitting chafing guards to the lines. As the tugs had already been released, the master instructed the officer in charge (OIC) of the forward mooring party to tension the forward spring lines to warp Zarga back into the correct position. The OIC positioned himself aft of the forward springs' port-shoulder roller fairlead , and positioned a second crewman forward of him in order to relay his orders to the winch operator. As the winch operator attempted ...

UK MAIB issued a report on the grounding of the general cargo ship Vectis Eagle Gijon, Spain on 30 November 2014

UK MAIB issued a report on the collision between MV Orakai and FVMargriet North Hinder Junction, North Sea on 21 December, 2014

The UK MAIB has issued a Safety Bulletin regarding the mooring line failure on board LNG tanker Zarga

Inexperienced personnel must be briefed and properly supervised

Lessons learned UK MAIB has published its first issue of its Safety Digest earlier this year including lessons learned from maritime accidents. One case uses two examples where high sided Ro-Ro vessels were berthed alongside in strong winds and explains which precautions should be taken in such conditions.Vessel 1 A large high sided ro-ro vessel was berthed alongside in strong winds at a busy European port. The master had decided to use four headlines, four stern lines, two forward spring lines and two aft spring lines to keep the vessel secure alongside during cargo operations, a decision he based on the weather forecast available at the time of arrival.The strong offshore winds were beam on to the vessel, causing significant loading on the vessel's mooring lines. As cargo operations progressed the wind began to increase, and gust to 42 knots, which caused all four stern lines, the two aft spring lines and one forward spring line to part, and the stern to veer quickly off the berth. This caused damage to the stern ramp, and the vessel to swing across the river and ground on the opposite bank.The crew were able to close the stern ramp to prevent any further ...

UK MAIB report on Sea Breeze flooding and abandonment UK MAIB has issued accident report into the flooding and abandonment of general cargo ship Sea Breeze off Lizard Point, March 9th, 2014.The report reveals that a ballast pump in the vessel's engine room was being maintained when water began to enter the space. The crew were unable to stem the flow and the engine room was evacuated. The crew did not deal effectively with the emergency as they had not been trained.Salvors were able to bring the flooding under control and the vessel was initially anchored in St Austell bay at 2100 on 10 March before being moved to a berth in Fowey. The MAIB investigation identified a very poor standard of engineering being carried out on a ship in materially poor condition.The key safety issues identified:The master, who was the officer of watch at the time, was not aware that the work was taking place and no permit to work had been issued.A risk assessment had not been completed prior to work commencing, basic contingency preparations were not taken and good engineering practice was not applied.No on board training or drills had been completed, hampering the crew's ability to ...

UK MAIB has issued a report on the flooding of the general cargo ship Sea Breeze

UK MAIB has issued a report on the collision between the passenger vessel Millennium Time and a motor tug

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 ...