The IMO has adopted the amendment 39-18 to the International Maritime Dangerous Goods (IMDG) Code
The UK MCA has released a Merchant Shipping Notice regarding the transport of dangerous goods and marine pollutants in packaged form by sea on ships within UK waters and on UK ships.
The IMO has adopted the amendment 39-18 to the International Maritime Dangerous Goods (IMDG) Code. It will enter into force globally on 1 January 2019, with a twelve month “transitional period” until 31 December 2019.
Two crew members, who were inside the deck slewing crane’s cabin, were seriously injured.
Transport Malta’s MSIU has published its investigation report on the slewing deck crane failure onboard the Maltese-flagged product tanker ‘Bozdag’, while the ship was in the port of Tallinn on 28 November 2017.
The report revealed that the dynamic loading and the sudden halt of the free falling loads were two major contributing factors to the failure of the deck slewing crane.
The London P&I Club together with Paul Willis Senior Associate at Hawkins have published a loss prevention guide regarding the risks of carrying coal cargoes. The report gives special consideration to the issues surrounding gas monitoring and ventilation.
The guide mentions that the management of coal cargoes and the proper use of gas detection equipment are vital to prevent coal fire claims. It also details the basic requirements regarding the installation, use and maintenance of gas detection devices and the different types of sensors involved in their operation.
The report team found that the risk clearly depends on the level of congestion.
A new Volvo Ocean Race (VOR)-commissioned report has examined ocean racing at night in areas of high vessel traffic density to establish possible steps to mitigate risk following the death of a fisherman during the race.
The independent Volvo High Traffic Density Report follows the collision between Vestas 11th Hour Racing and a fishing vessel this January, in the final stages of the leg into Hong Kong during the most recent edition of the race. The crews recounted that virtually all the vessels had some form of lighting and exhibited AIS. The fishing vessels were either stationary or travelling at slow speeds of 3-6 knots and they did not form an impenetrable barrier.
Dumping plastics into the sea is already prohibited under MARPOL regulations, which also oblige governments to ensure adequate port reception facilities to receive ship waste.
The IMO has pledged to address the significant problem posed by plastics to the marine environment, with the adoption of an action plan which aims to enhance existing regulations and introduce new supporting measures to reduce marine plastic litter from ships.
The plan was adopted on October 26 by IMO’s Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC).
Dumping plastics into the sea is already prohibited under MARPOL regulations, which also oblige governments to ensure adequate port reception facilities to receive ship waste. Under the London Convention and Protocol on the dumping of wastes at sea, only permitted materials can be dumped and this waste – such as from dredging – has to be fully assessed to ensure it does not contain harmful materials like plastics.
The atmosphere in each cargo hold should be monitored, at least on a daily basis, for CO, hydrogen sulphide (H2 S), oxygen (O2) and flammable gas (LEL-methane).
London P&I Club has analysed the problems associated with the transportation of coal in bulk, such as self-heating and flammable gas (i.e. methane) release. Self-heating can lead to fires and the production of carbon monoxide (CO), whilst methane release can lead to an explosive atmosphere being generated in the hold.
Self-heating normally occurs in localised hot spots within a bulk cargo, and temperature measurements are unlikely to identify problems. However, when coal self-heats it produces CO, so measuring the concentration of CO is the most effective method to identify a self-heating cargo.
The atmosphere in each cargo hold should be monitored, at least on a daily basis, for CO, hydrogen sulphide (H2 S), oxygen (O2) and flammable gas (LEL-methane). If the holds are being ventilated, then ventilation should be stopped at least Continue reading “Preventing coal cargo from self-heating”
A number of safe bunkering measures are required for each bunkering operation. These can be divided into four stages and checks
The UK P&I Club has published helpful guidance to ensure safe bunkering operations. The Club said that bunkering operations are routine and critical, high risk operations which require to be carefully planned and performed.
Causes of bunker spills
Although the most of the bunker transfers are carried out without incident, very occasionally, things can and do go wrong. The UK Club notes that only a minority of cases do bunker spills occur because of failure of the hoses or pipelines, while the majority of spills result from a tank overflowing.
But these are not the only causes. Common causes of bunker spills can be summarised as follows:
– Improper set up of pipeline system valves: Potentially causing either overpressure, or flow of bunkers to an unintended location;
– Insufficient monitoring of tank levels during bunkering: All tanks, not only those Continue reading “How to conduct a safe bunkering operation”
The FRPD 309 sustained damage to the shell plating and forepeak tank forward of the collision bulkhead. In addition, the port anchor was disconnected from its housing and became wedged in the Evco 60’s hull
The Transportation Safety Board of Canada released its investigation report into the collision of the dredger FRPD 309 with the loaded barge Evco 60, on 5 December 2017, in the Fraser River.
The incident
On 04 December 2017, the dredger FRPD 309 departed a shipyard in Delta, BC, to begin dredging in the Fraser River. The vessel is a conventional trailing arm suction dredger, with the bridge and accommodation located forward and machinery space located aft. Before departure, the crew had carried out pre-departure checks, a safety meeting, and emergency drills.
After arriving at the dredging location, the vessel started dredging sand and sediment from the river bed into the hopper using the 2 trailing arms and a dredging pump. When the hopper was filled, the sand and sediment was pumped ashore via a pipeline. The master left the bridge, handing over the command of the vessel to the officer of the watch (OOW). Two engineers, 2 deckhands, and a pipe operator were also on duty.
This urgent bulletin has been issued after working in a refrigerated saltwater tank resulted in a fatal accident on board fv Sunbeam (FR487) at Fraserburgh, Scotland.
Initial findings
At about 0900 on 14 August, FV Sunbeam crew arrived at the vessel’s berth ready to begin work. The vessel’s refrigeration plant had been shut down after landing the final catch at Lerwick, and its RSW tanks had been pumped out and tank lids opened in preparation for deep cleaning. At some time between 1200 and 1350, Sunbeam’s second engineer entered the aft centre RSW tank and collapsed.
Of the other complaints, there was one about the routing of HS2, as well as others in some way related to land or property.
252 complaints were received by the Canal & River Trust in 2017/18, according to the latest Waterways Ombudsman report.
The report show that the number of complaints is above the average of 225 over the past five years. During the year the Ombudsman received 35 enquiries about the Trust, down on 39 last year. Fifteen new investigations were opened, which was one more than the previous year and the number of completed investigations was 14, three lower than the previous year.
Of the 14 investigations completed, one was upheld, while in a further four investigations the complaint was either upheld in part, or elements of it were upheld. Goodwill awards were proposed in three cases, although in one case the complainant did not accept it.
US Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) has issued a safety alert summarizing its findings and recommendations following a number of recent risk-based inspections. BSEE’s team of inspectors and engineers developed several recommendations from inspection findings to reduce the risks associated with fired vessels; hydrocarbon processing vessels on offshore oil and gas facilities with self-contained, natural or forced draft burners.
Between July 17 and July 20, BSEE inspectors visited 27 platforms operated by 14 unique operators to focus on personnel competency, mechanical integrity of fired vessels, managements systems, and maintenance of fire suppression systems.
It was reported that the injured engineer was not wearing any face or eye protection when carrying out the work, despite the ready availability of this equipment in the engine room.
In the UK P&I Club‘s latest ‘Lessons Learned’ feature, Capt David Nichol references a case about a serious eye injury caused to an engineer who was engaged in carrying out routine maintenance of a fresh water steriliser. The investigation and outcome identified that the injured man had not been part of a proper risk assessment and consequently had not been wearing any face protection.
The incident occurred while two of the vessel’s engineers were performing maintenance on the U.V. steriliser of the fresh water generator in port. The work involved replacing a U.V. lamp and its associated tubular quartz glass sleeve within the cylindrical steriliser casing.
