Toxic Gas News

Jordan on Sunday dismissed senior officials at the country's main Red Sea port of Aqaba port after finding gross negligence was behind the deaths of thirteen people following a chlorine gas leak at a major berth.The deaths and injury of over 300 workers came after a crane loading chlorine containers onto a ship last Monday dropped one onto the quay, causing it to explode.Jordan's cabinet took the decision to fire the director general of state-owned Aqaba Company for Ports Operation…

New Lighting Technology offers bright ideas for better interior and exterior lighting that saves money, manpowerThe U.S. Navy is leaving traditional lighting behind for Solid State Lighting (SSL) with very long-life solid-state light-emitting diode (LED) lighting. Technology has illuminated new ways to light ships that are safer, more efficient and more affordable. Taking advantage of the new technology has its challenges, such as finding cost effective lighting that is rugged…

The Sri Lankan navy has towed a fire-stricken supertanker further out to sea to keep it off the coast of the Indian Ocean island after the wind picked up strength and changed direction, a spokesman said on Thursday.The tanker, loaded with 2 million barrels oil, was 50 nautical miles (95 km) from the east coast and moving in a northerly direction, the navy spokesman, Indika de Silva, said. Earlier, it had been headed southwest.The stricken vessel has raised fears of an environmental disaster…

South Korean shipbuilding giant Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) has secured orders for a total of six liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers from European and Asian shipowners, totaling $1.13 billion.The ships - four LNG carriers for a European client and two others for an Asian shipping company - will be installed with a dual-fuel propulsion system to enhance efficiency and reduce toxic gas emissions.Four of the vessels for the European owner will be built by Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries while the remaining two will be built by Hyundai Heavy Industries.According to Yonhap, all six vessels will be capably capable of transporting 174,000 cubic meters of LNG…

The importance of maintaining chemical toilets onboard ship has been raised following an incident in February onboard a Sydney Harbor-operating passenger ferry in which a high level of toxic gas was detected in a toilet cubicle after a passenger was fatally injured.A 39-year-old passenger was found unconscious in a toilet cubicle aboard the Lady Rose and could not be revived by paramedics. While the reasons behind her death are unconfirmed, during the initial investigation HAZMAT…

Strong winds, high waves and toxic gases are hindering dozens of rescue boats struggling to locate missing sailors from a stricken oil tanker in the East China Sea and to extinguish a fire that has burned for the past three days on the ship. The poor conditions, with rain and waves as high as 3 metres (10 feet), frustrated efforts to tame the fire and search for the 31 remaining tanker crew members, China's Ministry of Transport said in a statement on Tuesday. The flames were forcing the South Korean Coast Guard's search and rescue team to stay as far as 3 miles (4.8 km) away from the tanker, two South Korean officials told Reuters.

Body of crew member found on board; casualty might be worst tanker oil spill since 1991 and concerns grow that tanker may explode, sink. Rescue crews wrestled to bring a blaze on an Iranian oil tanker off China's east coast under control on Monday as fire raged for a second day following a collision with a grain ship, while the body of one of the 32 missing crew members was found on aboard. Concerns were growing that the tanker, which hit a freight ship on Saturday night in the East China Sea and burst into flames, may explode and sink, the official China Central Television (CCTV) said on Monday, citing experts on the rescue team. Poor weather continued to hamper the rescue work, Lu Kang, a spokesman at China's foreign ministry, told a regular news briefing.

The Omicron Gas System, which is designed for monitoring flammable and toxic gasses in liquid cargo tanks,was chosen for use aboard four Farstad Platform Supply Vessels. This sophisticated new solution, which Autronica Fire and Security AS will display on its stand at SMM in Hamburg, has been installed to ensure safety during transport of liquid cargo, with particular focus on the monitoring of gases produced in tanks by used drilling fluids/mud, which is classed as hazardous material. Farstad has chosen the Omicron Gas System for use aboard its PSVs Far Seeker, Far Searcher, Far Symphony and Far Star, in order to meet safety requirements from Statoil.

Self-heating incidents involving coal cargoes have been problematic for centuries. It was a much-feared hazard in the days of wooden sailing ships, and has continued on since the advent of modern steamships. The problems associated with carrying coal by sea are today much better understood, says Karl Lumbers, a Director of Thomas Miller P&I Ltd, Managers of the UK P&I Club: “When coal cargo oxidizes, it spontaneously generates heat and toxic gases such as carbon monoxide. This can lead to flammable atmospheres in the hold, depletion of oxygen in those spaces and corrosion of metal structures. Lower quality coals such as lignite are more prone to this process than higher quality coals such as anthracite.

Two Brazilian maintenance workers died as a result of a toxic gas leak at an offshore oil rig operated by the state oil firm Petrobras. "The workers died when doing maintenance work on a drainage tank at the B-37 platform on the Marlim block in the Campos basin on Wednesday evening," said a Petrobras spokesman, adding that the workers were employees of Ultratec engineering firm. He said it was yet unclear how the leak had occurred and what gas caused the deaths. There were no other casualties and there was no damage to the platform. "The leak was stopped at the same moment on Wednesday. A Petrobras commission is investigating the case." Campos Basin accounts for nearly 80 percent of Brazil's overall crude oil output.

Reports indicate that owners of a container ship which is leaking a toxic chemical may face prosecution as investigations continue into how the dangerous substance became exposed. Emergency Services were continuing to remove the substance from the Kota Pahlawan which was forced to dock in Brisbane, Australia. The fire brigade boarded the Liberian container ship off Caloundra to make sure the vessel was safe. They conducted gas and heat testing on the container itself, and sealed it, before allowing the ship to continue to Brisbane. The chemical, Xanthate - a powder used in the mining industry - is safe when dry. But it had become wet, giving off a potentially explosive toxic gas.

Norwegian state oil and gas company Statoil rejected a Russian fuel oil cargo that breached hydrogen sulphide limits, a toxic gas, currently anchored in Rotterdam. The news came as shipping inspectors boarded vessels in the Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp (ARA) region to test if other cargoes were similarly contaminated. There are fears that another three cargoes from the same source might also breach hydrogen sulphide regulations. The Zoja 2, carrying 26,159 tons of fuel oil was refused permission to discharge its cargo by Rotterdam port officials on Thursday. Navitank, the seller, declined to comment on the possibility that other cargoes sold to traders and refiners might be equally polluted. "There are four cargoes from the same source, ours happens to be the first.

Hydrogen sulfide (H2S) has been called the "silent killer" because it has a way of sneaking up on its victims and killing them without warning. The key to protecting crewmen against the silent killer is to raise their awareness by educating them about the dangers of H2S and the precautions necessary to work with it safely. Hydrogen sulfide is a toxic gas most often encountered as a residual contaminant in cargoes such as crude oil, #6 oil, and molten sulfur. Hydrogen sulfide can also be encountered in holds containing decomposing plant and animal materials. Ballast tanks sometimes contain hydrogen sulfide because of the decomposition of plant and animal material contained in river water.