MAIB, in its Safety Digest, describes an incident involving the over heating of a passenger vessel.
The Incident
The propulsion engine of a small coastal passenger vessel began to overheat while on passage to its next port. One of the vessel’s engineers stopped the engine and cleaned the seawater strainer, which had become clogged with debris and was restricting the flow of cooling water to the engine. The engineer also noticed that the engine’s cooling system expansion cap looked loose; he protected his hand with a rag and attempted to tighten the cap, which suddenly blew off. The engineer responded by instinctively turning his back to the unit but was sprayed with scalding hot water from the engine’s pressurized cooling system.
The engineer sought assistance on board and was placed in a shower to cool the extensive burns to his back while the emergency services were called. He was evacuated ashore by a Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) lifeboat, from which he was transported to a local hospital and treated for superficial burns.
It was later found that the securing lugs for the engine cooling system expansion cap were bent, which had possibly prevented the cap from sealing correctly.
Lessons Learned
- Observe → Always allow an engine to cool down before attempting to conduct maintenance on a pressurized cooling system.
- Risk → Ensure you refer to the risk assessments. These exist to alert operators to potential hazards and the mitigation measures that should be implemented before the task is undertaken. The risk assessment method statement is a clear explanation of how you are going to manage the identified risks.
- Procedure → The company issued a safety flash that highlighted the dangers identified in this case. Familiarize yourself with manufacturers’ manuals and ensure that you know how to complete a task correctly and safely.
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Source: MAIB
