The Safety Of Seafarers Going To Sea Engineering Essay

The resort Of oceanf atomic number 18rs Going To Sea Engineering EssayThis report aims to indoctrinate readers ab come out the condom of seafarers going to sea and the possible dangers that they face. The report pull up s get under ones skins likewise elaborate about the ongoing issues and measures taken to ensure the honestty of the seafarers. oceanic Industry has been a major platform for investment and income since the ancient snips. Seafarers face possible dangers from collision of ships, lighting and weather conditions. Therefore, the casualties onboard a ship throw been change magnitude due to lack of awareness towards safety on board the ship. The transnational nautical placement( IMO) took steps to prevent such disasters from happening. Rules have been set up to carry sure the equipments onboard the ship are up to date, certified and are regularly inspected. Workers onboard must be well trained in the safety aspects. According to the International ocean Organisa tion(2009),ship safety is a subject that is currently receiving high attention by most(prenominal) countries. The International Maritime Organisation(2009) said that this was due to a get of serious vessel casualties that have bumpred in recent years.1.3 MethodologyThe information for this report was obtained from the International formula for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) 1974 edition, part books, research about shipping companies and the internet. Case studies were taken from online news articles.1.4 ScopeAs there are galore(postnominal) possibilities that could happen onboard a ship, this report exit investigate solely about the possible cause of blaze at sea, preventive measures, consequences of fire, actual events that took place due to fire, types of fire and much more.2. grow Hazards onboard the Ship2.1 Causes of FireAccording to John G. Antherson (2000),the causes of fire on a ship arent a lot different than the causes of fires in any urban setting. As there are electrical circuits onboard the ship, there is a chance for an electrical fire is to occur. Machinery onboard a ship gage get hot when its operating. An overheating bearing could cause a fire.(John G. Antherson 2000) Ships uses combustion systems to generating steam, and internal combustion engines are employ generate electricity. These combustion system get out get very hot and can cause a fire.(John G. Antherson 2000) Closed machinery spaces and the volatility of fuel, lubricants and hydraulic fluids around the hot machinery can lead to a fire or an explosion. A collision at sea could bug out a fire. The galley where food is prepared is an early(a) fire hazard on board a ship.(John G. Antherson 2000) During ship repairing, metal cutting and welding equipment is carried and used to faulty equipment. Sparks from this equipments could also start a fire. There are some more possible ways fires could be started. Fire hazards in the cabin could also cause fire to occur. An article ( Anon Fires In Ships 2002) states that careless smoking is the main cause of fires in ships.In one case scenario, sixteen Chinese nationals have been taken to the hospital after a fire broke out in their ship(APL Columbia) at port Botany on 5 January 2010.A caboodle share onboard the 45,000 tonne APL Columbia(IMO9252242) noticed a fire in his cabin about 1.30am.The man tried to put out the fire except was unsuccessful.The work party members had suffered from dirty dog inhalation and the fire was put out about 5.30 am using the ships own firefighting equipment. In anformer(a) case scenario, a fire broke out in the engine room. A Maersk container ship (Maersk Duffield) crossed Brisbanes Moreton Bay with its engine room on fire and the Emergency Management Queensland helicopter is en driveway to assist. star caboodle member required treatment.Shipping Database,2009-2010Online Available from http//www.shippingdatabase.com/ Accessed 31 January 2010Figure 1 International Maritime S tatistics forum 2007 p.g 15Figure 2International Maritime Statistics Forum 2007 p.g 16According to the chart ( figure 1) made by the Maritime Institute in Gdansk(2007), most fire accidents occur during ship repairs. Fire caused from ship repairs take up 79.3% of most fire accidents in their case study. Meanwhile, figure 2 showed that 24.11% of fire occurring on board a ship is located at the load holds and tanks.2.2 fleshes of FireThere are 4 types of fire that might occur onboard a ship. There are course A , Class B , Class C and Class D fires. The U.S Department of Agriculture, Forest Service(2007) said that Ordinary combustible fires are the most common type of fire, and are designated under Class A fire . These occur when a solid, organic material such as wood, cloth, rubber, or plastic become heated to their flash point and ignite. This class of fire is fairly simple to combat and contain .According to National Fire Protection Association (NFPA 2008),the most common way to do this is by dot the burning material with water, oxygen can also be removed by smothering the fire with foam from a fire extinguisher.Meanwhile, flammable runny are categorized under Class B fire. The National Fire Protection Association(2008) reports that this fire follow the same basic fire tetrahedron (heat, fuel, oxygen, chemical reaction) as ordinary combustible fires, except that the fuel in question is a flammable liquid such as gunoline, or gas such as natural gas.An efficient way to extinguish a liquid or gas fueled fire is to disrupt the chemical chain reaction of the fire, which is through by dry chemical and Halon extinguishing agents. According to an extract from Industrial Hygiene and Information Management (2008) ESH Manual Chapter 40, Hazardous Materials, class D fire are fires that are caused by flammable or combustible metals. Examples given by the ESH manual Chapter 40, Hazardous Materials, of such metals are titanium , sodium ,magnesium, potassium, atomic nu mber 92 and calcium.Generally, metal fire risks occur when sawdust, machine shavings and other metal are present. These fires can be ignited by the same types of ignition sources that would start other common fires.Wikipedia, Fire Classes Online Available from http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fire_classesAccessed 1 February 2010A crew onboard a fishing vessel said that If a fire was to start onboard a ship, crew members onboard must know what type of fire it is. If a wrong extinguisher or method is being used, the fire might spread even more. ( Florida skylark Fishing Crew 2002)3. Consequences of fire3.1 Loss of Revenue and Marine EnvironmentThe International Maritime Organisation (2009) said that most accidents onboard a ship will ensue in a loss of revenue. Cargos onboard a ship might be alter and millions of dollars worth of cargos and resources will be affected. Fire onboard a tank ship ship will have a high chance of causing an explosion and fuel leaked into the sea will cause w ater pollution and that will affect the marine environment. Thousands of dollar will be used to clean up the oil spill. A case study given by the carriage State Information exchange (2006) was that of Hyundai Fortune where an accidental fire broke out on 21st March 2006. The combined be of the ship and damaged cargo is estimated at over 300 million US dollars.According to an online article by Brisbane Times, oil spill clean-up can be rather costly. In a case study by the article, an insurer of a Hong Kong-based cargo ship had to foot the bill for a 20 tonnes of diesel fuel into amnionic fluid off Stradbroke Island. Authorities announced that the estimated cost of the clean-up will reach about $100,000 a day and take seven days to complete.Daniel Hurst 2009 , Oil spill clean-up to cost $100,000 a dayOnline Brisbane times Available from http//www.brisbanetimes.com.au/news/queensland/oil-spill-cleanup-to-cost-100000-a-day/2009/03/12/1236447368184.html Accessed on 7th February 20103.2 Political FalloutPolitical fallout might also occur if bustling action is not taken. Political fallout will cause the reputation of the government or authority to be at stake.(M.Masellis and S.W.A.Gunn 1992) The disasters that occur within the Maritime Industries can be used as an example for opposition parties to blame the government and this might change the mindset of the society towards the government.According to an online article by BBC news, an oil well in the Timor Sea off the north-west coast of Australia caught fire. The oil rig had been leaking oil and marine fire fighters were struggling for ten weeks to violate the leak. The National Offshore Petroleum Safety Authority had been called out to help combat the fire and other teams such as the Geoscience Australia and the Australian Maritime Safety Authority were on standby. However, an opposition spokesman accused the Environment Minister of Australia of doing nothing to stop the oil leak.BBC News 2009 , Australia well catches fire Online Available from http//news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8336564.stm3.3 Human CasualtiesAccidents onboard a ship will also cause military personnel casualties to occur. Fire especially will be life threatening onboard a rider ship and it will cause chaos and panic among passengers. ( L.M. Collins 1999) A good way to ensure that gracious life is not lost is for the crew and passengers to follow instructions given by the Captain. If the passengers follow the instructions swiftly, they will be able to escape from the ship safely.( L.M. Collins 1999)One of the major events that had many human casualties was that of RMS large. According to David G , Titanic was struck by an iceberg and sank in two hours and forty minutes on 15 April 1912. The sinking of the Titanic resulted in 1517 deaths out of the 2223 people on board. The high casualty rate was due to the fact that the ship was not carrying enough lifeboats for everyone onboard.Brown, David G. (2000). The Last Log o f the Titanic. McGraw-Hill Professional. ISBN 0071364471. to the highest degree fire cases are quickly dealt with and the only losses that the crew face are the cargos or raw materials onboard. Up to this day, passenger ship have not faced any fire incidents that resulted in major human casualties.4.Fire Safety Measures4.1 Safety of Life at Sea(SOLAS)M.Masellis and S.W.A.Gunn(1992) said that fire casualties on ships lead or so certainly to disastrous results because of the limited and isolated areas of the vessels and the lack of immediate and easy access for the rescue team. Preventive measures are therefore much more efficient in the effort to avoid such casualties than rescue and fire-extinguishing procedures or devices. Marine fire casualties in merchant ships the Greek statistics 1992 Available from http//www.springerlink.com/content/h8362077847j9127/In 1914, The International Maritime Organisation had a convention among international leaders and maritime leaders to talk abou t maritime safety. Of all the international conventions dealing with maritime safety, the most important is the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea(SOLAS). There have been many versions of SOLAS adopted by the International Maritime Organisation simply the present version was adopted in 1974 and entered into force in 1980.The SOLAS conventions have all covered many aspects of safety at sea. The convention in 1914 include chapters on safety of navigation, construction, fire protection and life-saving appliances.(International Maritime Organisation 2009)This shows that the International Maritime Organisation is constantly trying to find ways to improve the aspects of safety at sea to ensure the safety of seafarers life by introducing the Safety Of Life at Sea(SOLAS) and updating it.4.2 Fire Safety Test and Safety EquipmentOne of the fire safety measures is to conduct fire safety test for the ship. Fire safety of ships is an extremely important area. Before any mate rial can be used onboard a ship, it must have successfully passed strict tests and have been certified for use. This is to ensure that the material or equipment does not pose a fire hazard onboard the ship. (SP Technical Research Institute of Sweden 2008)Another safety measure is to install safety equipments on the ship. Equipments such as fire extinguisher, sprinkler system , gas monitor and other safety equipments are being implemented. The International Maritime Organisation(IMO) is taking steps to introduce new and more sophisticated equipments onboard the ships. IMO hope to slenderise the amount of accidents from occurring onboard the ship and will rely on this new equipments to combat the problem more efficiently.4.3 Service of ships and EquipmentsAccording to The Safety of Life At Sea 1974 edition, the ship and its safety equipments have to undergo service once every few years. Safety equipments include components that can deteriorate over time. Therefore, this can mitigate the effectiveness of the equipment. Examples of such equipments state in the Safety Of Life At Sea 1974 edition (SOLAS) are fire extinguishers, EPIRBs, flares, life jackets, life rafts and the skinny signals. Servicing of the equipment must be done by the manufacturer or an authorised agent by the expiry date. The expiry date must be clearly marked on the equipment. Most life raft needs to be serviced every two or three years. Equipment that cannot be serviced or no longer works must be replaced if it is to be carried as part of the safety equipment onboard the ship.(The International Maritime Organisation 2009)In the event that an emergency were to occur and the safety equipments were to be faulty as they were not sent for servicing, the manufacturer should not be blamed as the expiry date have been stated clearly on the equipment. It is the duty of the crew onboard and its owner to send the equipments for servicing once the expiry date is over.According to the IMO 2009, mainten ance and inspections of equipments must be save to provide objective evidence that these work have been carried out according to the manufacturers instructions.4.4 Proper training for the crewAccording to the Maritime Port Authority Singapore(MPA) 2010, Seafarers running(a)s on board a ship must have the valid certification or endorsements. In Singapore, these are issued by the Training Standards Department of MPA. Seafarers working on board a ship are required to have a valid Certificate of Competency (CoC) or endorsement, which comply with the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers (STCW).The crew must also be well trained in fire fighting and First Aid. Those who wish to work onboard a ship must have an Advance Fire Fighting Course certificate and Elementary First Aid certificate as well in front they are qualified to work onboard (Maritime Port Authority Singapore 2010). The crew will also conduct regular safety drills after each dismission from port. The crew are to follow their duty that had been assigned on the Muster List.By having proper trained crews onboard a ship, this will minimise the chance of human error and accidents from occurring. Furthermore, the crew are well trained to sinkle any emergencies such as fire . The International Maritime Organisation(IMO) 2009 once said that the part and familiarisation are directly affected by the frequency and quality of the drills carried out. IMO added that a crew debrief after each drill is essential to emphasise lessons erudite and to give additional training where necessary.5. Conclusion5.1 Further ImprovementsEvery year, the International Maritime Organisation and other Maritime Body are working hand in hand to improve a seafarers life in terms of their living condition and to ensure that they are working in a safe environment. The organisation are trying to find constant proceeds to reduce marine casualties, loss in revenue due to unwan ted accidents. One improvement that can be introduce to the ship is the All-in-One fire extinguisher. This extinguisher would be able to combat any types of fire such as Class A , Class B, Class C or Class D fires. By having this fire extinguisher onboard the ship, the crew will not need to waste time to find different methods to combat different types of fire. Another improvement that could be introduced is the fire isolating system. This system will isolate the fire from spreading to other rooms and this will reduce the damage caused towards the ship. The Maritime Port Authority said that this new inventions will further improve the safety aspects but it mute needs to undergo more tests before it can be implemented towards the ships.5.2 Human Error is still the Main CauseThe International Maritime Organisation have taken steps to ensure that the technology and safety equipments being implemented are up to date. Even thought this is so, nothing can be done if the accident caused i s by human error. Even if the crew had gone for proper training, human error will still occur. An article by B.S Dhillon(2007), human error costs the Maritime Industry $541 million per year and a study of 6091 major accident claims revealed that 62% of the claims were attributed to human error. B.S Dhillion(2007) added that human error contributes to 84% to 88% of tanker accidents.B.S Dhillon 2007. Human Reliability and Error in Transportation Systems, Springer Series in Reliability Engineering . Page 1.These incidents will result in crew injuries or death and the ship will be delayed or damaged. Even if there is mechanical failure, human error can play a role in terms of lack of maintenance , monitoring or a breakdown in communication. The Bahamas Maritime Authority added that crew fatigue and complacency can be a major factor in this incident. The Bahamas Maritime Authority said that Good equipment can cost more, but safety should be accorded a higher priority because a ship cann ot be operated safely without the seafarer.