The Bahamas Maritime Authority reports an incident where the furnace exhaust drainpipe of a tanker was blocked with carbon deposits, and there was subsequent release of steam and hot water.
What happened
On the afternoon of 9 February 2024, the Bahamas-flagged LPG tanker Constellation was on enroute from Sheiko, China to Houston, U.S.A. During routine inspections the second engineer reported fluctuations in pressure and temperature from the auxiliary boiler. A decision was taken by the chief engineer to inspect the boiler the following day. Following an inspection on the morning of 10 February 2024, it was identified that the furnace exhaust drainpipe was blocked with carbon deposits. A fitter, motorman and a wiper were assigned the task of removing the furnace drainpipe and unblocking it. When opening an adjacent handhole cover in an attempt to gain access to the furnace drainpipe from inside, the fitter suffered severe burns when he was exposed to steam and hot water. Despite immediate medical assistance on board and medical care ashore the fitter died as a result of his injuries.
Why it happened
The fitter took a decision to open up the handhole cover in the belief that he could gain access to the furnace drainpipe in order to unblock it. Unknown to him or the crew he was working with, the cover actually gave access to the water side of the boiler which was full of water at 127°C and pressurised to 2.5 bar. Although a meeting was carried out in the morning, the work party did not assess all potential risks, including gaining access to the boiler from another entry point not specified or approved by the engineer in charge of the works.
What we can learn
A shared mental model is vital when work is being carried out on complex systems that are pressurised. Personnel working on such systems should be suitably trained and appropriately briefed. All personnel working where a potential risk of harm exists are encouraged to exercise the Stop Work Authority if an unsafe condition arises but, if you don’t understand the system, you cannot necessarily see the risk
Did you subscribe to our daily Newsletter?
It’s Free Click here to Subscribe!
Source: The Bahamas Maritime Authority
