In calm seas, a vessel was stopped while underway to allow the crew to undertake boat drills. While the lifeboats were tested, the rescue boat was launched and manoeuvred close to the ship by a three-person crew. The rescue boat trials lasted for about an hour before the crew brought the boat alongside for recovery.
A number of fatalities and serious injuries have occurred across the maritime industry due to parting of mooring lines. Our loss prevention poster highlights the fact that the first line ashore has the highest potential to snap given the level of load it can experience to steady a moving vessel.
As UK MAIB reports in its most recent Safety Digest, the crew on board a tanker had a lucky escape after switching on the galley equipment electrical isolators to start preparing for lunch.
A fatal electrocution accident happened on board a Hong Kong registered bulk carrier during cargo hold cleaning when she was drifting off the coast of Veracruz, Mexico. At the time of the incident, three deck crew members, including one able seaman (the AB), were conducting a cleaning operation in the cargo hold using a portable cargo hold light for illumination. When the AB attempted to move the light by hand to illuminate the bilge well, he collapsed on the tank top due to an electric shock, resulting in his death. This Note draws the attention of shipowners, ship managers, ship operators, masters, officers, and crew to the lessons learnt from this accident.