UK P&I Club’s Loss Prevention and PEME departments have identified all areas of major risks and compiled them together in a new brochure. These risks include enclosed spaces, master pilot exchange, moorings, loss of power, slips trips and falls as well as mental health. The brochure aims to identify potential hazards and provide recommendations on how to avoid such risks.
Enclosed Spaces
Accidents relating to entry into enclosed spaces on board ships continue to blight the shipping industry, with an unacceptably large number of incidents resulting in the death or injury of both ship and shore personnel reported over the first few months of this year alone.
UK Club risk assessor, David Nichol, believes that a paradigm shift is required in the approach to safe management of enclosed spaces so as to arrest the continuing appalling litany of personal tragedy
Enclosed Spaces – the ‘Bowtie approach’
Hazard, threats and consequences: In the centre of the diagram see below), Hazardous Activities are identified as the ‘hazard’, while blue squares to the left identify a range of ‘threats’, which, if not controlled, could cause a serious incident involving P&I claims and other consequences which can be seen in the red shape on the far right of the diagram.
Controls: Between these extremities can be seen the ‘controls’ which, if they work properly, will prevent the accident happening and on the right hand side of the diagram, controls which will mitigate the consequences. Thus taking as an example the threat of Enclosed Space Entry (left hand side), controls which should be in place to prevent this include atmosphere checks before and during entry period, trade competency of personnel to perform required duties, effective supervision by an officer or supervisor during operation and enclosed spaces to be isolated from all over spaces.
Consequences: The consequences of an accident (right hand side) will be mitigated by the capability of the crew to deal with an incident, good record keeping, emergency reporting and communication procedures, systems and procedures to maintain steering, emergency drills, clear abort procedures, recovery measures implemented by a welltrained crew, tug availability and anchor at the ready.
Threats: This example shows only one threat. A full ‘Bowtie’ with all the threats can be provided on request.
Master pilot exchange
When the mandatory berth to berth passage plan for a voyage is being prepared, it is often the information that is needed to complete the transit with the pilot onboard, to or from the berth, that is the most difficult to obtain in advance.
The transit to and from the berth
- Route agreed with waypoints and courses, adequate charts
- Speed and timing for the transit
- Local weather and tidal conditions expected
- Vessel movements, any congestion off the berth
- Local traffic regulations to be complied with
- Depth limitations due to tide and/or squat
- Minimum depth on passage
- Local tidal data, heights, slack water and when the direction of flow changes
- Rate and direction of any currents
- Location of turning areas including those required for a berthing manoeuvre
- Abort points
- Emergency or standby anchorage areas
Learn more by reading UK P&I Club’s publication on Master Pilot Exchange
Mooring
Major accidents involving mooring equipment in the last 20 years have injured many seafarers and have cost the UK Club over US$34 million. Many of these accidents have occurred during the handling of ropes/wires, where ropes/wires have parted (53%) or where ropes/wires have jumped/slipped off drum ends/bitts (42%) with 5% caused by actual equipment failure (see pie chart below centre).
Learn more by reading UK P&I Club’s publication on Mooring Incidents
Loss of Power
Increasing numbers of main engine failure related incidents and accidents following blackouts have led to a data collection exercise by the UK Club’s risk assessors and a detailed analysis of more than 700 claims, which has given cause for concern.
A significant number of these claims for third party property damage, many of which were enormously expensive and, in some cases, amounted to millions of dollars, could be attributed, directly or indirectly, to main engine failures or electrical blackouts.
Recommendations to reduce the risk of power losses and blackouts
• Engine and boiler manufacturers should be consulted for advice on operation with low sulphur fuel and the need for any equipment/system modifications
• Ensure correct maintenance of all equipment; engines, purifiers, filters, fuel systems and sealing arrangements
• Ensure fuel oil viscosity and temperature control equipment is accurate and fully operational
• Ensure that system temperature and pressure alarms, fuel filter differential pressure transmitters etc are accurate and operational
• Ensure fuel changeover procedures are clearly defined and understood
• Ensure that engineers are fully familiar with fuel systems and main engine starting systems and establish ‘failure to start’ procedures. These should include familiarisation with operation locally and from the engine control room
• Ensure that the starting air pressure is monitored during manoeuvring operations and that the deck department appreciates the limitations of starting air availability
• During standby, run two (or more) generators in parallel whilst ensuring sufficient power availability should one stop or trip. Monitor and balance switchboard power loads equally
• Test the astern operation of the main engine prior to arriving at the pilot station and, if practical, before approaching the berth
• Establish procedures to ensure that there is adequate electrical capacity available before starting up lateral thrusters, mooring equipment or other heavy equipment, bearing in mind that simultaneous starting of large electric motors will lead to a large power surge and possible overload
• Ships fitted with shaft generators should, where appropriate, change over to to auxiliary generator power well before entering restricted waters and undertaking critical manoeuvres. Manufacturer’s guidelines should be followed and ship’s staff guided accordingly.
Slips, Trips and Falls
What is so special about slips, trips and falls? They are ‘accidents’ aren’t they, part and parcel of life; maybe something which have to be expected aboard ships, which are mobile, sometimes even violently moving, places of work?
They are special because slips, trips and falls represent nearly one in three of the large personal injury claims submitted to the Club and which aggregate to a staggering $155 m over the past ten years. They are constant too, with very little variation in numbers of claims from year to year.
But they are also special because they represent, not just money, or the squashed metal or damaged ships encountered in other sorts of claim, but genuine pain and suffering from people who have been injured or even killed, because they have slipped, tripped or fallen aboard ship.
So these claims go beyond numbers, each of them a story of individual injury, which has happened because of a moment’s carelessness, thoughtlessness or complacency, as people have moved around a ship, possibly doing their jobs, or even just because the ship is not only their place of work, but where they live.
Mental Health
Sophia Bullard, PEME Programme Director at UK P&I Club, discusses the importance of managing the emotional well-being of crew at sea. Loneliness, isolation and fatigue – these are usually the answers seafarers give when asked how they feel in their job. Being thousands of miles away from home and loved ones, it is no surprise that a seafarer’s life can be a lonely one. The hostile environment, with low, or no, social interaction, can easily bring about depression and mental health issues. For many seafarers, forming relationships on-board can be very difficult, and a clash of personality and culture types can be unavoidable, particularly when spending such long periods of time confined within a restricted space.
Choosing a career at sea
For many, a career at sea is a dream come true, and we must not forget the reasons for wanting to pursue such a career. Below are the top ten reasons, according to the International Chamber of Shipping, as to why people want to work at sea
#1 Good Wages
#2 Early responsibility
#3 Opportuity to travel
#4 Long-term prospects
#5 Doing something useful
#6 Career flexibility and job security
#7 International recognition
#8 Long holidays
#9 A career that is different
#10 Transferable skills
Explore more by reading UK P&I Club’s brochure on the major risk areas onboard
Source: The UK P&I Club
Especially your Twitter feed is great. Very informative.
Finally Mental Health has been declared as an area of concern. Agreed with UK P&I.