Alerts & Learnings

Turning shared experience into preventative learning

View Archive

Search for Safety Alerts & Learnings

Play your part in improving workplace safety. Browse our extensive catalogue of Safety Alerts and Learnings to learn from the experiences of industry colleagues.

Alert
Scis main logo colour

IMCA - Injury after fall from vertical ladder

Two crew members were performing routine engine room fire watch and thruster space rounds checking oil pressure and temperature checks, when one of them was injured falling off a vertical ladder. To view this IMCA safety flash in full, please click the 'Download Alert' button above.

Alert
Scis main logo colour

IMCA: USCG - Lithium-Ion battery system installations

The United States Coastguard (USCG) has published Safety Alert 14-25 relating to Lithium-Ion (Li-Ion) battery system Installations. The alert was published following a recent Li-Ion battery fire on a passenger vessel. To view this IMCA alert in full, click the 'Download Alert' button above.

Alert
Scis main logo colour

IMCA: Worker suffered eye injuries in electric arc incident

A Vessel ETO (Electro-Technical Officer) sustained light burn injuries to the eyes (“arc-eye”) due to an electrical arc spike during disconnection of a shore power cable. The ETO reportedly switched off the breaker at the quayside and managed to disconnect the cable from vessel shore connection Jun…

Alert
Scis main logo colour

IMCA: Dropped object due to over-ridden limit switch

The event occurred whilst lifting an item (weighing approx. 300kg) from the deck of a vessel deck, for overboarding in subsea operations. The crane operator’s instructions were to heave the crane wire rope to lift the crane hook; whilst doing this, the crane operator disengaged the safety limit swit…

Alert
Scis main logo colour

IMCA: Worn mooring lines spotted and replaced before they parted

On a vessel alongside on a windy night, hourly walkarounds were being conducted as instructed by the Officer of the watch. During one of these inspections, it was observed that one of the mooring ropes had nearly reached its breaking point due to the strong wind and the structural characteristics of…

Alert
Scis main logo colour

IMCA: Crane cab access platform collapsed

The incident occurred as the Crane Operator (Bosun) was starting work. While the Bosun was climbing the ladder to the cab, the access platform with its protective cage, connected to the crane base, suddenly failed. As a result, the Crane Operator fell within the ladder's protective enclosure, which …

Alert
New ESC Logo

Energy Safety Canada: Slimhole tubing string - Dropped Object

Workers pulled 73 mm production tubing from the well. After changing the rams, slip dies and elevators, the rams were pressure tested. Rental slimhole elevators were used to remove the tubing hanger and pup joint for a sizing check. After tallying the pipes and inspecting the work spool, they began …

Alert
Marine safety logo

MSF - The dangers of enclosed spaces

It is estimated that around 350 seafarers and 3rd party workers have been killed due to asphyxiation in enclosed spaces on ships since 1996. 43 accidents have occurred since 2022, accounting for 70 of these deaths. An enclosed space is a space which is not designed for continuous worker occupancy a…

Alert
Scis main logo colour

Loading / unloading vessel - Loss of containment

A loss of containment occurred from the loading arm quick connect/disconnect (QC/DC) coupling when disconnecting the Butane liquid loading arm from a receiving LPG vessel. Two personnel and two ship crew were in the immediate vicinity and were enveloped in a hydrocarbon vapour cloud. After remov…

Alert
Scis main logo colour

Swollen Laptop Battery - Fire Risk

Whilst installing a program onto a spare laptop, the engineer noticed that the keyboard was bulging (Image A). This is a typical sign of battery swelling inside the laptop. The swelling of the battery is caused by gas build-up from internal battery degradation, which can lead to fire or toxic gas r…

Alert
Scis main logo colour

ST-80 Cylinder Failure Causes Lower Leg Fracture

The crew was in the process of pushing liner to bottom. After completing the first connection of heavy weight drill pipe, the Floor Hand was moving the ST-80 (iron roughneck) back to its parked position. While maneuvering the ST-80, the extend/retract hydraulic duplex cylinder suddenly failed. T…

Alert
Scis main logo colour

Potentially Serious Incident - Dropped Electrical Phase

While completing annual preventative maintenance on a de-energized vertically mounted overhead isolation switch, an Electrician attempted to close the switch when one phase broke free and fell approximately 14ft. The load side of the switch was connected by cabling, resulting in the broken phase swi…