A new Nautical Institute Mars Report discusses an engineer inspecting the chemical locker. He found that although there was a notice in place instructing crew to use proper personal protective equipment (PPE) when handling the chemicals stored there, there was no easy access to specialised PPE equipment in place.
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.
The engineer advised the master and chief engineer and PPE was placed in easy access to the chemicals.
Also read: Chemical burn on ship due to inadequate PPE
Advice from The Nautical Institute
- This is a good example of seeing a hazard that was in plain view for some time.
- Each chemical has its own specific risks. While specific PPE should be easily accessible, so too should an information matrix that shows what PPE must be worn for each chemical.
Also read: Crew member without PPE suffers hot sludge burns
Mars Reports
This accident was covered in the Mars Reports, originally published as Mars 202516. 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.
Picture: The chemical locker before and after (photo by The Nautical Institute).
