safe working practices

Vessel hygiene to prevent COVID-19 spread

During the COVID-19 pandemic, more than ever maintaining a good housekeeping onboard can help prevent the virus spread. In view of this, the American P&I Club reminds key tips which are important to follow in general for a safe workplace onboard a vessel.

The appearance of ships and shipboard equipment on the outside suggests how well things are operating on the inside, and more importantly contributes to the health, safety and happiness of the vessel and crew.

”Housekeeping oversights rarely go...

https://safety4sea.com/vessel-hygiene-to-prevent-covid-19-spread/

HMM to deploy underwater robots for hull cleaning

South Korean shipping company Hyundai Merchant Marine (HMM) revealed plans to start deploying underwater robots for hull cleaning on its vessels. This is expected to reduce risks associated with human work underwater, reduce costs, as well as risks linked to hull fouling for the marine ecosystems.

As part of these plans, HMM signed a cooperation agreement with TAS Global, a South Korean manufacturer specialising in underwater robots.

Hull fouling, such as barnacles, seaweed, moss, etc. is widely...

https://safety4sea.com/hmm-to-deploy-underwater-robots-for-hull-cleaning/

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/

ITF Seafarers’ Trust launches new OSH training program

ITF Seafarers’ Trust launched a new three stage occupational safety and health education program for port workers in Aqaba, Jordan.

Specifically, this program features an app based awareness raising component followed by face-to-face training and work place assignments- and is designed to increase worker participation in the OSH agenda, complementing company initiatives where they exist creating a safer environment for both dockers and seafarers visiting the ports.

ITF Regional Secretary, Bilal...

https://safety4sea.com/itf-seafarers-trust-launches-new-osh-training-program/

Safety order on Terra Nova FPSO after incident

The Canadian offshore regulator, the Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Petroleum Board (C-NLOPB), recently informed that it gave Suncor Energy a safety order following an investigation of an incident on the Terra Nova FPSO.

In fact, the Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Petroleum Board (C-NLOPB) advises that its Chief Safety Officer (CSO) issued an Order to Suncor Energy pursuant to Part III.1 of the Atlantic Accord Implementation Acts, in accordance with its “Policy Respecting...

https://safety4sea.com/safety-order-on-terra-nova-fpso-after-incident/

New Zealand proposes ways to prevent drowning

With the drowning rates in New Zealand remaining increased, New Zealand’s first Water Safety Month “a Safer Boating Forum” initiative, call people to be fully aware and pay attention when in, on and around the water. Specifically, the Water Safety Month started on 18 October and until now seven people have lost their lives due to drowning.

Water Safety Month focuses on educating people on the drowning issue, since they must be prepared and cautious when swimming, especially at the summer period...

https://safety4sea.com/new-zealand-proposes-ways-to-prevent-drowning/

Ferry operator fined over worker injury at UK terminal

Swedish ferry operator Stena Line pleaded guilty to breaching Health and Safety at Work Act (1974) for failing to adequately assess risks in connection to a serious employee injury at the company’s port terminal in Birkenhead, Wirral, UK, in September 2017.

On 17 September 2017, George Ball, a pontoon traffic marshall working for Stena Line Limited, was struck by a 3.5 tonne delivery van at the company’s port terminal in Birkenhead.

The van was being reversed off the Ro-Ro vessel ‘Stena Lagan’...

https://safety4sea.com/ferry-operator-fined-over-worker-injury-at-uk-terminal/

Lessons learned: Fatal fall linked to poor stevedoring practices

The UK MAIB shared valuable lessons learned from a fatal fall of a bosun from a deck cargo during discharging operations, which stressed issues surrounding poor stevedoring practices. During this discharge operation, the vessel’s crew had witnessed a series of poor safety practices by stevedores, MAIB noted.

The incident

A bulk carrier was at anchor and discharging its cargo of sawn timber to barges.

During the sea passage, the deck cargo had been secured by top-over lashings, which were removed...

https://safety4sea.com/lessons-learned-fatal-fall-linked-to-poor-stevedoring-practices/

Personal protective equipment most critical to crew safety, study shows

Reducing seafarers’ workplace injuries is of great importance to shipping and ship management companies. A new study investigating the causes of these injuries found that injury reduction campaigns focused on personal protective equipment (PPE) would be most effective at reducing risks to workers.

The study, published in ‘Risk Analysis: An International Journal’, seeks to identify the important influencing factors and to build a quantitative model for the injury risk analysis aboard ships, so as...

https://safety4sea.com/personal-protective-equipment-most-critical-to-crew-safety-study-shows/

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