Safety Alert – confined space entry

The U.S. Coast Guard issued a Safety Alert reporting that the second engineer on a foreign vessel died after he became accidentally trapped in the main propulsion engine’s scavenging air receiver. While the ship was in port, he had apparently entered the space to check on recent repairs and became trapped when the door closed and one of the dogs dropped into place. He failed to tell anyone of his plans and failed to have anyone standing by to provide assistance. Mariners are reminded that a confined space is any location that, by design, has limited openings for entry or egress and is not intended for continuous human occupancy. (HK Law)