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SAFETY SEMINAR FOR RATINGS:
UPHOLDS ESM’S SAFETY CULTURE TO A NEW HEIGHT

The importance of safety and consequences of unsafe practices were once again high lighted to our crew members at a one-day Seminar, jointly organized by SIMS and ESM crew division held at Mumbai on 8th July 2005. The seminar well attended by our ratings emphasized company’s strong commitments and policy to personal safety of each crew member while urging them to cooperate and play their own role to implement the policy.

Speakers from the faculty as well as the crew department raised various safety-related issues and the same was presented to the crew through visual aids as well as hypothetical situations and their consequences and solutions. Accident trends, root cause and lessons learned were also discussed with active participation from the crew.

Great emphasis was placed on the improvement of safety onboard especially in relation to PSC/OM & Vetting Inspections and why passing these inspections is so important. Health-safety issues like drug and alcohol addiction as well as the menace of AIDS were also discussed to create awareness. The seminar also highlighted to the crew what ESM was doing to reduce accidents and related problem onboard with appropriate training at SIMS for both officers and crew.
The seminar was mostly interactive with participants enthusiastically displaying willingness to express themselves and participate in the open discussions. To round up the seminar, we had an additional Q & A session with the crew to raise their queries and the outstanding performers of the Quarterly Performance Awards were also introduced to the crew.
SHIPYARD INCIDENT

Berthed at a shipyard, a vessel was undergoing repairs on deck and in the engine room. There was a thin layer of oil floating on the tank top in the engine room bilges.

A motorman started to open up the Butterworth heater located on engine room bottom floor port side, for cleaning. Some of the bolts were impossible to open with normal spanners and he decided to use the ship’s oxygen/acetylene torch to burn off the bolts WITHOUT CONSULTING HIS SUPERIOR. This resulted in the red-hot bolts falling onto the tank top, and into the oily mixture.

A fire and explosion immediately occurred. After a few seconds the whole tank top was ablaze. The engine crew tried to control the fire with a fire extinguisher, but in vain.

The shipyard’s fire brigade started fighting the fire with water. One member of the engine crew was missing. After three hours they managed to contain the fire and sent in smoke divers to search the engine room, where they found the missing member of the engine crew only a few meters from the emergency exit on the top platform of the engine room.
The fire resulted in loss of life and extensive damage.
LESSONS LEARNT
Cleaning standards in the engine room to be maintained.
A proper risk assessment is to be carried out for all planned jobs and a hot work permit is to be issued for any hot work that is carried out on board the vessel.
A fire watch should be maintained and the required fire fighting equipment should be positioned in the vicinity ready for use.
If the vessel is at a shipyard, ensure that the shipyard’s safety officer is aware and authorizes any hot work that may be planned by ship’s crew.
Page - 1 Volume 5 , Issue 8 Dt - 01-08-2005 | ENB History | Home | Page 2 >>