AARON & MELISSA II: CLOGGED BILGE SYSTEM AND POOR WEATHER LED TO SINKING
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has released a Marine Accident Brief about flooding and sinking of the fishing vessel Aaron & Melissa II approximately 70 miles southeast of Portland, Maine.
The Aaron & Melissa II sank about 0800 local time on November 14, 2018. All four crewmembers abandoned ship and entered an inflatable liferaft when attempts to dewater the vessel proved unsuccessful; they were later rescued by a U.S. Coast Guard helicopter.
The NTSB determined that the probable cause of the flooding and sinking was the captain’s decision not to return directly to port with forecasted gale-force conditions, combined with the clogged bilge system, which prevented the crew from dewatering the flooded lazarette.
Abandoning Ship With the vessel listing to starboard and no ability to dewater the flooded lazarette, fish hold and lobster tanks, the three crewmembers donned their survival suits and went to the port bow where they awaited the order to abandon ship.
After determining the vessel could not be saved, the captain joined the crew on the bow. The engineer then inflated the liferaft. All four crewmembers jumped into the water and boarded the raft, abandoning the vessel just as it began to sink beneath the waves, stern first. The liferaft painter became entangled on the sinking vessel’s mast. Fearing they would be trapped inside the raft and pulled down with the vessel, the crew left the raft and entered the sea.
Read the full report at
https://bit.ly/2GCX2x4 HSE TO CARRY OUT WELDING INSPECTIONS
HSE IS reminding employers that they must protect their workers’ health by controlling the risks from welding fumes.
The Health and Safety Executive’s (HSE) current programme of inspections will review health and safety standards across the country and businesses are encouraged to visit HSE’s revised guidance to remind themselves of the changes to control expectations.
To protect your workers’ health, you must ensure you have adequate controls in place to avoid or reduce exposure to welding fumes. Employers should be using local exhaust ventilation where effective and provide suitable respiratory protective equipment where necessary to protect workers in the metal fabrication industry from inhaling fumes.
The inspections follow a safety alert that was issued in February, 2019 after new evidence showed exposure to mild steel welding fume can cause cancer and HSE updated guidance to reflect that.
Scientific evidence from the International Agency for Research on Cancer shows that exposure to mild steel welding fume can cause lung cancer and possibly kidney cancer in humans.
John Rowe, Head of Manufacturing at HSE said: “Employers and workers should know the risk, plan their work and use the right controls when welding activity is carried out. If they are not HSE will use enforcement to bring about improvements. It is our mission that all workers are protected and are not made ill or killed by their work. Everyone should be able to leave work and go home healthy and safe.”
The Report • March 2020 • Issue 91 | 21
Safety Briefings
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