Tag Archives: Marine Safety Alert

Marine Safety Alert: Engine Room Exhaust Hazards on Fishing Vessels

This Safety Alert addresses the importance of installing noncombustible materials in machinery space boundaries with dry exhaust systems. A recent marine casualty resulting in an engine room fire onboard a commercial fishing vessel identified significant hazards associated with main engine dry exhaust systems coming in direct contact with combustible materials, such as general-purpose resin on a wood Fiberglass Reinforced Plastic (FRP) vessel. >click to read< 09:14

Confined Space: Dangerous Gas Buildup in Fish Holds

Four crewmembers onboard a commercial fishing vessel noticed an unusual odor coming from the fish hold while conducting shrimping operations. While under the assumption that the odor was due to a leaking refrigerant line, the crew hauled in their nets and began transiting back to port to have their system inspected by a service technician. As they were packing the last haul of catch into bags, one of the crewmembers went down into the fish hold to retrieve more bags. The crewmember subsequently fell back into the hold as he was trying to exit the space. A second crewmember failed to recognize the potential hazard and rushed into the space to provide assistance; however, he was immediately overcome by the gas and also fell into the hold. >click to read< 13:14

US Coast Guard Warns of LED Lighting Interference to Marine Radios, AIS Reception

The US Coast Guard says it’s received reports from crews, ship owners, inspectors, and other mariners regarding poor reception on VHF radiotelephone, digital selective calling (DSC), and automatic identification systems (AIS) when in the vicinity of LED lighting systems. This could include interior and exterior lighting, navigation lights, searchlights, and floodlights found on vessels of all sizes. “Radio frequency interference caused by these LED lamps [was] found to create potential safety hazards,” the Coast Guard said in an August 15 Marine Safety Alert. >click to read<19:47