Don’t use the anchor to keep your ship in place in heavy weather
Anchors and associated gear are for holding ships in light to moderate weather conditions. For more adverse weather, drifting or slow steaming (hove-to) would be the safer option. The Nautical Institute gives this advice after...Read more
Two dead after sudden vessel movement causes load to swing
Close attention should be given to mooring lines and ship-shore interfaces at all times, but especially while working cargo and when tides are present. It would not be unreasonable to undertake hourly rounds. This is...Read more
Make sure you understand your ship’s motion monitoring and forecast tools
Container ship CMA CGM G. Washington lost 137 containers overboard as a result of parametric roll. The Nautical Institute points out that a major contributing factor was that the crew was not fully conversant with...Read more
Do you check your ship’s air moving equipment before first use each day?
Before commencing gas freeing operations, air moving equipment has to be grounded. On a tank barge where this was not carried out properly, static electricity caused an explosion.Read more
Two tanker mooring lines caught in bow thruster
Due care must always be taken with lines near a working bow thruster. A recent Mars Report features an incident in which the mooring lines were drawn into the thruster tunnel fouling the propeller blades.Read more
Bulk carrier dragging anchor leads to grounding
Anchoring a ship on a lee shore with expected high winds is asking for trouble. In a recent Mars Report, a master did just that. Despite keeping the main engines ready, he could not get...Read more
Alcohol and fatigue lead to vessel grounding
Taking the watch alone at night while being tired is always a very bad idea. Adding alcohol into the mix is even worse. A recent Mars Report tells of a ship’s master who did just...Read more
Tug grounds after officer of the watch falls asleep
Even when you comply with the rules, fatigue can still jeopardise safe operations on board a ship. In a recent Mars Report, the officer of the watch fell asleep due to fatigue resulting in his...Read more
Crew member’s finger crushed when securing crane jib
Crane operations are inherently risky. A recent Mars Report shows just how easy it is to lose situational awareness during such an operation, which led to a crushed finger.Read more
Unsafe berth leads to fatal fall in water
Don’t tolerate an unsafe situation against your own better judgment is the advice given by The Nautical Institute after a crew member died when he fell into the water at an unsafe berth. Despite the...Read more
Crew member dies after fall during ramp hatch maintenance
A vessel’s safety procedures are always at risk of becoming routine, which may cause real hazards to be overlooked. A recent Mars Report serves as an example, in which a crew member fell from 4.5...Read more
Minister gets started on Safety Board advice following MSC Zoe disaster
Dutch Minister Cora van Nieuwenhuizen is going to do her best to better protect the Wadden area against shipping accidents such as the one involving the container ship MSC Zoe. However, she cannot yet promise...Read more
DSB: Both Wadden Sea shipping routes at risk of losing containers
The Wadden area must be better protected against the loss of containers on the shipping routes that pass the islands to the north. During northwestern storm, both the northern and southern routes form a risk...Read more
Do you conduct a risk assessment before working on your ship’s boiler?
Boilers involve heat and pressure and are, therefore inherently a risk and should be included in vessel procedures. In a recent Mars Report, such a procedure was lacking resulting in the death of a crew...Read more
Crew member falls into open manhole
An unattended, open manhole can pose a hazard on board ships and should be dealt with as such. The Nautical Institute gives advice on how to prevent such accidents in a recent Mars Report after...Read more
Alcohol abuse and poor BRM cause ship to hit bollards
Closed-loop communications are an essential part of good bridge resource management (BRM). In a recent Mars Report, less than adequate BRM allowed for a single point failure and resulted in a ship hitting dolphins. Alcohol...Read more
Charges against master APL England after losing containers off Australia
Charges have been laid against the master of the APL England, which lost about fifty containers off the coast of Sydney. The offences relate to pollution and/or damage of the Australian marine environment as a...Read more
Collision of frigate Helge Ingstad and tanker was a ‘symphony of errors’
The Nautical Institute discusses the collision between the Norwegian frigate Helge Ingstad and the tanker Sola TS in a recent Mars Report and calls it a ‘symphony of errors’. A lack of situational awareness, no...Read more