Gard Club

Lay-up and re-activation revisited

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected the maritime industry in previously unthinkable ways. Ports around the world are denying entry to certain vessels, travel restrictions have postponed crew changes, ships are taken out of service and crew have been laid off. These operational problems are forcing some owners and operators to consider placing vessels in lay-up, notes Mr. Jarle Fosen, Senior Loss Prevention Executive, Arendal.

Owner’s decision

Once a vessel owner has decided to lay up a vessel,...

https://safety4sea.com/lay-up-and-re-activation-revisited/

How to safely walk the stairs on ships

Gard warns about the dangers of walking up or down stairs at ships. As it says, seafarers should always apply the old adage of ‘one hand for yourself and one for the ship’ and keep one hand free to grasp the handrail.

According to the UK Health and Safety Executive (HSE UK), the highest chance of a person falling in a staircase is during the swing phase of the trailing leg. The injuries sustained by a person when walking down the stairs are more serious compared to a fall occurring when walking...

https://safety4sea.com/how-to-safely-walk-the-stairs-on-ships/

Downsides of making decisions in isolation

When decisions are made in isolation during critical operations, such as navigation, the consequences of improper execution can be negative, Gard Club warns. Namely, in an isolated decision-making style decisions are made without consulting the people who will be impacted by the decision.

The decision makers expect their subordinates to understand the reasoning behind the decisions and to comply with the decision. This gap between the team leader or master’s expectations and the understanding of...

https://safety4sea.com/downsides-of-making-decisions-in-isolation/

Overview of the 2020 shipping regulatory landscape

2020 will see several regulatory changes, with the main on being the IMO 2020 sulphur cap. However, in addition to the sulphur cap regulation, numerous other regulations will also be implemented worldwide by the IMO and ILO over the course of the year.

In order to navigate operators through the upcoming regulatory scene, Siddharth Mahajan, Loss Prevention Executive Asia, Singapore, Gard Club, provides an insight of the most important international regulations that will enter into force in 2020.

1...

https://safety4sea.com/overview-of-the-2020-shipping-regulatory-landscape/

Supervision vital when working aloft

Working aloft is risky and a supervisor should be appointed to act as a lookout for the crew member who perform such tasks, the Gard P&I Club warned. The Club’s claims database for the last 10 years shows that 5% of all falls from heights have resulted in fatalities and is one of the top 5 leading causes for fatalities onboard.

Given the degree of risk involved, in addition to the worker wearing proper PPE, the role of a supervisor to ensure a proper lookout for the worker is important.

For the...

https://safety4sea.com/supervision-vital-when-working-aloft/

Wearing the right gloves prevents finger injuries

The Gard P&I Club reported that over a ten year period between 2009-2018, a 25% of all the crew accidents were finger and hand injuries related. Based on the Club’s portofolio, the data presented that ratings are nearly twice as likely to suffer from such injuries in comparison to the officers.

Apart from the ratings, the majority of finger/hand injuries were reported to the able bodied seamen (AB), while officers and marine engineers are the most vulnerable ones.

As for the costs, around 15% of...

https://safety4sea.com/wearing-the-right-gloves-prevents-finger-injuries/

Ventilation records vital in cases of cargo moisture damage

The Gard P&I Club informed it has handled numerous cargo claims over the last years, where condensation was found to be the contributory cause of cargo damage. When dealing with such claims, the Club advises, the voyage records of the hold ventilations play a central role in mitigating the claim.

When the dewpoint temperature of the outside air is lower than that of the air inside the cargo hold, this can result in surface condensation.

The only way to minimize or prevent moisture condensation...

https://safety4sea.com/ventilation-records-vital-in-cases-of-cargo-moisture-damage/

People focus: Diabetes and the seafarer

Today, 14 November is World Diabetes Day. Gard’s Christina Tsouni, Claims Executive, Piraeus and Alice Jackson Amundsen, Vice President, Arendal, join in the effort to raise the awareness among their readers of the risks of the disease, particularly to seafarers, and recommendations for life-style changes that can reduce these risks.

Type 2 diabetes – a growing global health threat that puts seafarers at risk

Diabetes is a chronic disease that occurs when the pancreas is no longer able to make...

https://safety4sea.com/people-focus-diabetes-and-the-seafarer/

How to prevent malware from affecting your computer systems

Malware aims to damage files or entire computer systems, steal data, or disrupt networks. They can be viruses, worms, Trojans, spyware, adware, backdoors, rootkits, and bots. To protect your systems against a malware, there are numerous inexpensive Antivirus software programs, but first and foremost one must know how malware spreads so they can avoid it in the first place.

Specifically, as Gard informs, malware can penetrate a computer in one of three ways:

  1. As a download from a web page: If you...

https://safety4sea.com/how-to-prevent-malware-from-affecting-your-computer-systems/

Tackling cargo misdeclaration – a first line of defence against container fires

Container fires may now be occurring on a weekly basis and in Gard’s experience most are associated with cargo misdeclaration. However just as with tackling the fire itself, tackling misdeclaration is a significant industry challenge. Thus, Mark Russell, Vice President, Head of Cargo Claims in London and  Charmaine Chu, Claims Executive in Hong Kong discuss the severity of cargo misdeclaration and the impact it has on the shipping market.

Stories describing danger at sea change with the times....

https://safety4sea.com/tackling-cargo-misdeclaration-a-first-line-of-defence-against-container-fires/

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