Do you know what to do when a fellow crew member suffers from heat stroke? The Nautical Institute gives advice in a new Mars Report, which describes four crew of a bulk carrier suffering from heat stroke, with one of them dying as a result.
The Nautical Institute gathers reports of maritime accidents and near-misses. It then publishes these so-called Mars (Mariners’ Alerting and Reporting Scheme) Reports (anonymously) to prevent other accidents from happening. This is one of these reports.
A bulk carrier in ballast was approaching a berth and was expecting to load cargo. The forward mooring team consisted of the chief officer (C/O), bosun and two crew members, while the aft mooring team consisted of the second officer and another two crew members. The air temperature and humidity levels were very high. Air temperature was between 40°C and 45°C with humidity at 76 per cent.
Shortly after the forward spring line was passed ashore, the bosun collapsed on the forecastle deck. The C/O attended the victim and felt his body temperature to be abnormally high. He notified the bridge while crew members 1 and 2 carried the bosun to a shaded area on the forecastle deck. Port authorities were advised for medical assistance.
Some minutes later, crew member 1 also collapsed on the forecastle deck. The C/O reported this to the bridge and he was brought towards the accommodation. On making fast the aft mooring ropes, the second officer sent crew member 3 forward, while he and crew member 4 assisted in tending to the bosun and crew member 1, both of whom were unconscious.
The bosun was experiencing difficulty in breathing, while crew member 1 did not show any signs of breathing at all. Oxygen was provided to the bosun via a portable oxygen resuscitator, while CPR was administered to crew member 1. Shortly afterwards, Crew member 3 also collapsed, some 35 minutes after the first casualty.
Crew member 3 was carried back towards the accommodation by two other crew. After all mooring lines were made fast, the master updated the local port authorities on the situation. A shore service boat soon arrived at the vessel’s starboard side and crew member 1 was evacuated to the terminal. The second officer and an oiler accompanied the victim, continuing to administer CPR until the boat arrived at the terminal. Another service boat arrived soon after and the bosun was evacuated.
A third service boat arrived and took crew member 3 to the terminal. Shortly after, the C/O was also taken to the terminal by a service boat as he was not feeling well. From the terminal, all four victims (the chief officer, the bosun and two crew members) were transferred by ambulance to a local hospital. One victim was later declared deceased having suffered acute respiratory failure due to heat stroke, which led to a cardiac arrest. The other three victims recovered.
Also read: Vessel collision causes fifteen fatalities
Advice from The Nautical Institute
The International Medical Guide for Ships advises the following actions for a patient suffering from heat stroke (or heat exhaustion):
- Move the patient into a cool environment.
- Remove all the patient’s clothing.
- Spray or splash the patient’s whole body with cold water and fan them vigorously or immerse them in a bath of cold water.
- Seek medical advice with a view to evacuation: even if body temperature is brought under control, heat stroke can cause life threatening damage to internal organs.
- If body temperature does not fall below 39˚ within 30 minutes, place the patient in an ice-water bath. Take the patient out of the bath as soon as rectal temperature has fallen to 39˚.
- Never underestimate the nefarious effects of heat and humidity. Stay hydrated and ideally use electrolytes with water.
Seek shade whenever possible. Lower your body temperature by dousing with water.
Also read: Service boat sinks during crew change
Mars Reports
This accident was covered in the Mars Reports, originally published as Mars 202502, that are part of Report Number 387. A selection of the Mars Reports are also published in the SWZ|Maritime magazine. The Nautical Institute compiles these reports to help prevent maritime accidents. That is why they are also published (in full) on SWZ|Maritime’s website.
More reports are needed to keep the scheme interesting and informative. All reports are read only by the Mars coordinator and are treated in the strictest confidence. To submit a report, please use the Mars report form.
