Health & Safety

A gangway refers to a platform, a walkway or a ramp connecting the ship to land or other vessels and is used as a means of safe access for the crew. The gangway must be properly rigged and maintained to prevent accidents or injuries and to counter the movement from tidal streams, swell, cargo operations and surge movements caused by ships in the vicinity.

Legislation

Accommodation ladders and gangways fitted on ships before 01 July 2026 on board ships constructed on or after 1 January 2010, should, to the extent possible, adhere with the IMO circular MSC.1/Circ.1331, Rev.1 – IMO “Revised Guidelines for Construction, Installation, Maintenance and Inspection of means of Embarkation and Disembarkation”. This circular should be referred to in conjunction with the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) regulation II-1/3-9 (Means of Embarkation on and Disembarkation from Ships). Continue reading “Understanding the updated IMO embarkation and disembarkation guidelines”

Maintaining a ship’s structural condition requires regular surveys and inspections throughout its operational life and the Ship Structural Access Manual is an integral part of this process. These checks help ensure that structural components remain free from damage, such as cracks, buckling, deformation, corrosion, or thickness diminution beyond acceptable limits.

For this reason, suitable means of access to the hull structure are essential, enabling safe and effective overall and close-up inspections, as well as thickness measurements.

Regulation II-1/3-6 of SOLAS, as amended, requires oil tankers of 500 GT and above and bulk carriers of 20,000 GT and above, constructed on or after 1 January 2005, to be provided with means of access in each space within the cargo area and forward spaces. Continue reading “Do you know why a Ship Structural Access manual is required on board?”

In early December 2025, local media and the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) reported on a general cargo ship M/V KAYO whose crew were rescued after the vessel sent out a distress signal off Malaysia’s east coast in the South China Sea. The vessel was experiencing heavy listing, with the risk of possible loss of stability and capsizing.

The 15 crew members were later safely evacuated, and it was reported that the vessel carried clay cargo loaded at the port of Lumut. At the time of publication, the incident is subject to investigation by the relevant authorities. Skuld wishes to caution its members and other interested parties that the industry has experienced similar incidents in the past, where vessels carrying clay in bulk from Lumut developed severe listing and subsequently sank, resulting in fatalities. [HOPE (2013) and XIN HONG (2020)] Continue reading “Clay liquefaction: a sticky risk to bulk cargo safety”

The Liberia Maritime Authority has issued a circular to reinforce mandatory safety requirements and operational controls related to electrical hazards onboard vessels, with particular emphasis on the use, handling, relocation, and isolation of portable electrical equipment.

A number of very serious marine casualties involving fatal electrocution demonstrate that routine shipboard activities can present significant electrical risks when energized equipment is handled without adequate isolation, inspection, task-specific risk assessment, supervision, or appropriate safeguards. The Administration has reviewed several fatal electrocution incidents that occurred: Continue reading “Ensure the SMS adequately addresses electrical hazards”

Recent bunker alerts have pointed to a growing presence of high-abrasive fuels containing cat fines in several regions, leading to further cat fines risk. The latest VPS Bunker Alerts confirm this upward trend, which is increasingly contributing to operational challenges and disputes within the shipping sector.

If not properly managed, cat fines can cause severe engine wear and, in extreme cases, lead to complete engine failure in a relatively short period of operation. Damage involving multiple cylinder liners and piston rings can be particularly costly and disruptive. Because vessels typically carry only one or two spare liners on board, extensive damage can quickly exceed onboard repair capacity. This often results in prolonged off-hire periods, as additional spare parts must be sourced and shipped in, with supply chain delays further extending repair timelines. Continue reading “Cat fines risk engine damage and operational delays”