Loss Prevention Advice
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The Atlantic hurricane season starts on 1 June and ends on 30 November. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) predicts an above-normal 2025 Atlantic hurricane season. NOAA is forecasting 13 to 19 storms with winds of 39 mph (34 knots) or higher. Out of these, 6 to 10 could become hurricanes with winds of 74 mph (64 knots) or higher, and 3 to 5 might be major hurricanes with winds of 111 mph (96 knots) or higher.
BEST PRACTICES FOR SHIPS SAILING ATLANTIC IN HURRICANE SEASON
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Over the past week, 27 May-3 June, six incidents of armed robbery against ships in Asia (two CAT 2 incidents, one CAT 3 incident and three CAT 4 incidents).
The incidents occurred in Bangladesh (1), Indonesia (1), Straits of Malacca and Singapore (SOMS) (2), and Vietnam (2). Five incidents occurred onboard bulk carriers and one incident onboard a container ship. One crew member sustained a minor head injury. No injuries were reported in the other five incidents.
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A fatal injury of a crewmember due to the tipping over of a vertically stowed stack of steel plate.
What happened?
Several steel plates measuring approximately 300cm x 130cm x 1cm and a total mass of approx.1800 kg were stowed in a vertical position in a corner of a steering gear room of a ship. The plates were used as material blanks for the on-board production of spare parts. To prevent the plates from tipping over, the stock of plates leaning against a railing was fixed in place with a steel cross strut mounted horizontally at waist height. The two ends of the cross brace, which served as an anti-tip device, were each pushed onto a threaded rod welded to the railing and locked in place with a nut. Opposite the stack of plates was a wall shelf at a distance of approx. one meter.
On the day of the accident, one plate was to be removed from the plate supply for a repair assignment. In order to handle the heavy plates, several crewmembers were required. As these crewmembers still had work to do on deck, only one crewmember initially went into the steering gear room and made preparations for the upcoming work assignment. In this context, he already disassembled the anti-tip device. As a result, the plate stack lost its “stability” and felt against the wall shelf. The crew member standing between the stack of plates and the wall shelf was caught by the stack of plates and pressed against the wall shelf at abdominal level. The accident victim suffered fatal injuries.
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The latest instalment of their Good Catch series to inform of the importance of safety on crane operations, bringing into attention an incident during cargo handling where a steel pipe swung and struck part of a ship, causing damage.
The stevedores had just started to offload the cargo of steel pipes from a bulk carrier using the vessel’s cranes. Cargo operations were being observed by the vessel’s Officer on Watch (OOW), but the stevedores were being directed by the stevedore foreman assigned to the vessel.
Cargo operations started smoothly as the first few lifts were performed without any issues. But on a subsequent lift, a large steel pipe swung and banged hard into the longitudinal bulkhead between the cargo hold and a ballast wing tank.
The impact dented the large steel pipe and punctured a hole in the ballast wing tank. The OOW observed what happened and yelled to the stevedore operating the crane to be more careful. But the next lift also swung and nearly banged into the same wing tank bulkhead. The OOW radioed the Chief Officer (CO).