RMI recommends all immersion suits to be checked rather than spot checks following a number of defective items
The Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) has published a Marine Safety Advisory notice. In it RMI stresses the importance of properly inspecting and maintaining all immersion suits, following a number of recent cases of defective equipment found onboard RMI flagged vessels.
Since 2019, when RMI shared a marine safety advisory focusing on the importance of following the manufacturer’s instructions for maintaining immersion suits, there have been multiple additional instances of defective or improperly maintained suits on RMI-flagged vessels, one of which resulted in a PSC detention by the US Coast Guard. In that case, “29 of 32 immersion suits were unserviceable due to unsealed seams,” and these suits were only five years old.
ABS publishes guidance on reduced manning requirements for safe operations
Guidance on the technology, systems and regulations needed for minimizing human presence on offshore facilities has been published by ABS. The whitepaper evaluates technology, regulations, systems and design issues. Reduced Manning on Offshore Facilities introduces some of the considerations essential for remotely operating floating facilities from a control center located nearby or onshore. To enable reduced manning without compromising safety, real-time monitoring, control automation and maintenance procedures incorporating remote diagnostics and simulations with minimal human intervention will be required.
“By utilizing new technologies, the number of personnel on board offshore assets can be reduced, minimizing personnel exposure and potentially reducing overall capital and operating costs. Since a significant reduction in manning is a fundamental shift for the industry, it Continue reading “ABS guidance on reduced manning requirements”
Scandies Rose photographed August 15, 2019 at Ocean Beauty, Kodiak. (Photo by Bret Newbaker)
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has issued seven safety recommendations after the fatal sinking of the fishing vessel Scandies Rose in December 2019. The Scandies Rose was en route from Kodiak, Alaska, to fishing grounds in the Bering Sea when it capsized and sank 2.5 miles south of Sutwik Island, Alaska. The Scandies Rose had seven crew members aboard, two were rescued by the US Coast Guard and five others were never found.
Warning to inspect FRC lifeboat and workboat lifting frames
IMCA has received information surrounding an incident in which a lifting frame became detached from a fast rescue craft (FRC) during operations.
The incident occurred when the FRC was attempting to come alongside a vessel in good weather with choppy seas. During recovery, the complete lifting frame detached from the boat. No one ended up in the water, but one member of the crew was pulled up with the lifting frame and fell down into the boat. The crew member sustained only minor injuries. An investigation and checkup of similar boats revealed cracks around the lifting frames.
MCA to carry out unannounced inspections of fishing vessels
Surveyors from the Maritime and Coastguard Agency are to carry out unannounced inspections of fishing vessels across the UK. The unannounced inspections are being carried out as part of ongoing work around fishing vessel safety in an industry recognised to be one of the most dangerous in the world.
Since November 2020, there have been eight deaths –that’s more than ten per cent of the total for the previous ten years. Between 2011 to 2020, the Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB), reported 60 fatalities from UK fishing vessels. The MCA says it has worked solidly with the fishing industry, reinforcing the messages about the requirements of legislation around standards of safety for crew and for vessels. Surveyors regularly carry out surveys and inspections of fishing vessels and detain those that do not meet the requirement of the law, until those deficiencies are corrected. Continue reading “MCA to carry out unannounced inspections of fishing vessels”
Four months after the fishing vessel Nicola Faith went missing with all hands off the coast of Wales, the U.K.’s Marine Accident Investigation Branch confirmed that the vessel was recovered in a unique salvage operation. The effort was undertaken after the families of the three lost crew members arranged for a private search to confirm the identity of the vessel on the seafloor. The MAIB said recovery and analysis of the vessel would help to provide answers to the question of why the fishing vessel was lost.
The vessel departed from Conwy, on the north coast of Wales, on January 27 and was believed to be out to set lobster pots. The vessel was not heard from and the MAIB was alerted to an overdue vessel, prompting the SAR operations. Seven RNLI lifeboats and three HM Coastguard teams searched an area measuring more than 400 square miles but reported no sign of the vessel of its three missing crew members.
In March, an inflatable lifeboat from the vessel was found more than 100 miles away. The bodies of the three missing crew, Captain Carl McGrath, Ross Ballantine, and Alan Minard, were recovered on the shoreline. Only in March did the MAIB locate the sunken vessel less than 100 meters from its last known location and after an initial survey, private searchers were brought in to confirm the identity of the ship. Divers photographed and surveyed the Nicola Faith with the information supplied to the MAIB.
Watch the vessel being raised.
In the first stages of the recovery operation, a remotely operated vehicle was used to conduct a final survey of Nicola Faith on the seabed. Evidence including fishing equipment and outlying debris was mapped and collected from the area around the vessel. MAIB said it believes this information will help the team to understand what led the vessel to capsize.
In preparation for the recovery, anchors were set, and salvage pumps were used to remove a large quantity of seawater from the vessel. The Nicola Faith, which weighed 11 tons was raised using a crane barge capable of lifting up to 150 tons from a depth of 140 feet.
“This operation needed to be meticulously planned and executed to ensure that valuable evidence was conserved,” said Chief Inspector of Marine Accidents, Captain Andrew Moll. “The purpose of our investigation is to improve safety. The next phase of the investigation will be to establish what events led to the vessel’s capsize, the mechanics of how the vessel sunk, and why. Once the investigation is complete, a report which details the findings will be prepared and published.”
After the vessel was brought to the surface, it was placed on the deck of an adjacent ship. The Nicola Faith is being moved to a specially adapted location where it will be housed until the investigation is complete. Once it has been secured, the families of the crew will have an opportunity to view the vessel.
Report issued by MAIB on fatal crush incident during transfer from workboat Beinn Na Caillich to a feed barge
The MAIB have issued a report into the fatal crush incident involving workboat Beinn Na Caillich. At about 1510 on 18 February 2020, the Ardintoul fish farm assistant manager drowned after falling into the water from a feed barge access ladder during a boat transfer. He stepped from the deck onto the ladder while Beinn Na Caillich was still moving forward and was crushed between the boat and the barge. A fish farm technician on board the barge attempted to stop the injured assistant manager from falling in to the water by holding onto the back of his personal flotation device and oilskin jacket, but the severely injured casualty slipped out of them. Despite the assistant manager being recovered from the water and the determined efforts of the fish farm workers, emergency services, and medical staff, the assistant Continue reading “Report issued by MAIB on fatal crush incident during transfer from workboat Beinn Na Caillich to a feed barge”
Lube oil contamination due to forgotten rubber membrane seals
In a recent publication, the Swedish Club describes a case of lube oil contamination caused by forgotten rubber membrane seals in the engine room of a chemical/oil tanker.
The ship was at anchor off Tenerife. During overhaul work, a large amount of seawater entered the engine room bilge from the inert gas system overboard drain line. This was later estimated to be around 25 cubic metres. Unfortunately, the crew had no knowledge of the problem until one of them rushed into the engine control room and said that he had seen water in the engine room bilges.
MPV Everest: Overflowing tank shortly before fire is revealed in preliminary ATSB report
The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) has issued a preliminary report from its ongoing investigation into a fire onboard the MPV Everest while on charter to the Australian Antarctic Division, last April.
On the morning of 5 April, MPV Everest was about 1,075 NM north-east of Mawson station in the Southern Ocean on a north-north-easterly course bound for Hobart, with a crew of 37 and 72 expedition staff onboard, the preliminary report details.
Shortly before 1100, the ship’s master saw large flames erupting from open louvres in the port engine room’s exhaust casing, so he raised the alarm and instructed crew and expedition staff to report to their emergency muster positions. Continue reading “MPV Everest: Overflowing tank shortly before fire is revealed in preliminary ATSB report”
London maritime arbitration adapts to the changing times
A special webinar entitled ‘Maritime Arbitration in London – Present and Future Challenges’, hosted by law firm HFW, attracted an audience of over 300 listeners from 43 countries at this year’s London International Disputes Week (LIDW21) in mid-May.
Following introductory remarks by HFW Partner and webinar host Jonathan Webb, webinar chairman Lord Hamblen, UK Supreme Court Justice and a leading shipping lawyer at the Bar before becoming a judge, introduced Ian Gaunt, Arbitrator and Past President of the London Maritime Arbitrators Association (LMAA).
New London Maritime Arbitrators Association terms announced
With reports of 3,010 arbitrator appointments, 2020 recorded the highest number of London Maritime Arbitrators Association arbitrator appointments since 2015, thus confirming that the LMAA remains a popular forum for dispute resolution in the shipping industry.
The London Maritime Arbitrators Association has published a new set of terms for all of the ‘full’ procedures (the LMAA Terms 2021), the LMAA Intermediate Claims Procedure 2021 and the LMAA Small Claims Procedure 2021. All take effect from 1 May 2021 and will apply to new arbitrations commenced after that date.
Report into fire onboard bulk carrier at Port Kembla published
Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) has published an investigation report surrounding a fire onboard a bulk carrier, Iron Chieftan, that took five days to contain and extinguish. The report highlights the lack of adequate regulatory requirements and standards to address the known risk of fire on-board self-unloading ships.
On 18 June 2018, during cargo discharge operations while alongside at Port Kembla, New South Wales (NSW), a fire broke out in the internal cargo handling spaces of the self-unloading (SUL) bulk carrier Iron Chieftain. The ship’s crew initiated an emergency response but shipboard efforts to control the fire were ineffective. The fire soon established Continue reading “Report into fire onboard a bulk carrier at Port Kembla published”
