Enclosed Spaces News

This week, the UK Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) issued its report on the deaths of three stevedores in a cargo hold access space on board a bulk carrier.Berge Mawson was in Indonesia, loading coal from barges using a floating crane. During a pause in loading due to heavy rain, all hatches were closed. After the rain stopped, a stevedore mistakenly entered the access space of a cargo hold and was overcome. Two other stevedores collapsed while attempting to rescue him as crew collected rescue equipment.

DNV has encountered instances where ships have been detained during Port State Control (PSC) inspections due to the arrangement of emergency escape trunks from machinery spaces even though the arrangements were approved by the flag state or their Recognized Organization.As a result, DNV has issued guidance explaining that on many ships, the protected emergency escape trunk does not, for various reasons, extend all the way down to the lowest deck level of the engine room.Common…

InterManager has collaborated with The Nautical Institute and IMarEST have launched an industry-wide survey which aims to collate feedback from those working on ships about enclosed space risks.The detailed online survey, which can be completed anonymously, asks seafarers to identify what aspects of enclosed space entry present risks for them and questions how involved in safety procedures they have been.InterManager Secretary General, Captain Kuba Szymanski, said: “InterManager carried out a widespread survey in 2018 where we asked seafarers why fatal mistakes were still being made.

Recent data from InterManager, submitted to the IMO in a recent paper (III-10-INF.18), highlights that in 2023 more than 30 seafarers lost their lives due to asphyxiation in enclosed spaces.This figure marks the second-highest annual number of fatalities recorded in nearly three decades.Most of these tragic incidents occurred during planned work, underscoring the need for comprehensive training and heightened safety measures, says MarinePALS.In the interest of saving lives of seafarers, MarinePALS has released two microlearning videos from its extensive library into the public domain.Read in-d

It's nearly 45 years since the tragedy on the ANCO Duke where seven crew died at the bottom of the tank they were cleaning. “I was working on chemical tankers then. All the crew felt this terrible loss of life and took on tank entries with a heightened safety focus,” says Captain Dave Watkins, Deputy Director of the confidential near-miss reporting service CHIRP Maritime. Since then, enclosed space deaths still occur, although not in the number they did.Watkins has years of experience on chemical and VLCC tankers as an officer and master…