Charles Lesieur 6 MT Dek

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SAFETY

Abbreviation
PPE
ISM
SCBA

Explanation
Personal Protective Equipment
International Safety Management
Self-Contained Breathing Apparatus

In this part the use of PPE on board of the dredging vessel Vasco Da Gama will be
discussed. Although the list is not complete, this is the equipment which was most
frequently used on deck and which I have experience with.

The use of PPE on board is important because, as the name implies, they protect the
user from various harms. Failing to follow guidelines on the use of PPE can issue a
warning or, in the case of an accident, make the insurance void.
Therefore the crew are often reminded to wear the correct PPE for the job, either by
being told by someone or by the ISM posters on various locations on the ship.

Figuur 9 ISM poster on board

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5.1 Helmets

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Since wearing helmets is obliged on deck, every crewmember gets one issued. However
sometimes the helmets are not worn on deck because they sometimes interfere with
more important ppes such as face masks or welding helmets. They are also, more
often than not, not worn in the engine room. But besides these standard helmets, there
are also other variants in use on board. One is another standard issue helmet, with the
difference being that it is yellow instead of white, and stay in the cabin except on drills
and emergencies.
Another type is the helmet that fire-fighters wear when they are needed. This features
a fire resistant neck cover, and a face shield. These arent used often because they
are solely for the purpose of fire-fighting. Small fires are quite regular during hot work,
but such protection isnt deemed necessary.

Figuur 10 standard white helmet in use on board

5.2 Gloves

Due to the nature of the job, gloves are necessary equipment for everyone working on
deck or in the engine room. But due to the different jobs, different gloves are needed.

The basic gloves are plain leather with a cotton top. The advantage of these is that they
are very comfortable to wear, are flexible and are good for most of the jobs on deck.
The downside of these is that they do not provide a lot of protection against abrasion
and, are easily soaked with fluids. This makes them unusable when working with oils
and chemicals and, if exposure to water is prolonged can cause infection on the hands.

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The problem of liquids can be addressed with latex gloves. These are chemical resistant
and are used on board for handling hazardous substances, such as oils and grease. An
important feature is that they are almost elbow length which makes them suitable for
emptying barrels of grease.
Next there are the riggers gloves. These are entirely out of cloth, but much stronger
that the basic gloves. They provide a lot of protection against abrasion and surface
soiling like rust and dirt. They also provide good protection for handling ropes and
wires. The downside is that they get wet very easily and tend to stretch with use.

Lastly we have welding gloves. These are extremely resistant to heat and fire and are
therefore used primarily for hot work.

Figuur 11 basic cotton gloves with leather palm

5.3 Hearing protection

When entering a machinery space, a lot of noise can be present. This noise can cause
severe damage to the inner workings of the ear, either directly deafening or destroying
specific frequencies. To mitigate this damage hearing protection must be worn. On
board of the Vasco Da Gama two types of protection are used. The first is the earplug.
These are made from easily compressible polymers. These are inserted directly into the
ear canal. The advantage of these is that they are cheap, are reasonably comfortable to
wear and dont take up much space. The downside is that they are a hygienic hazard.
The alternative for this are the ear defenders. These are placed over the ear as
opposed to inside it and offer a lot more protection. They are however more bulky and
a lot more expensive. These are usually only issued to personnel working in the engine
room.

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Figuur 12 ear plug dispencer

5.4 Coveralls

To protect the body from soiling, coveralls are worn. There are various variants in
circulation on board. These all offer the same protection but the difference is that some
are meant for high visibility on deck and others are of lighter fabric for working in the
engine room.

5.5 Safety harness

Safety harnesses are used when working at height or whenever a fall of more than two
metres is possible. The harnesses on board are type 3 body harnesses of the parachute
type. This harness is very good at stopping a fall but is not focused on fall prevention.
It has one mounting point on the back for fall arrestors and one in the front for
specialized devices like glideloc, or as is commonly done on board, attaching the hooks
of the fall arrestors for ease of access. The downside is that it has no attachment point
on the abdomen nor has it loops or points for attaching working gear.
The aforementioned glidelock is a small device which hooks to the front of the harness
using a shielded karabiner. It is used to easily ascend ladders fitted with a rail
compatible with the system. However, on board the rails are not in a usable state due

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to paint and a lack of footing space. Both of these problems however should be
addressed in the next dry-dock.

The Glideloc system is not the only type fall arrestor on board however. The
HWB2(TH) fall arrester from Ikar GB is also in use as the main fall arrestor for working
on heights. It is an inertia reel based system so it retracts automatically when there is
no tension on the webbing. The advantage of this is that the webbing never gets caught
when working but it can be a nuisance when there is a lack of anchoring points. In
some situations the tension created by the spring wants to pull the body in an
uncomfortable working position. It is also quite heavy and cumbersome though some of
the discomfort is lessened because it is attached to the upper back. It still sometimes
gets in the way of climbing a caged ladder though.
Another point against the HWB2(TH) is that on board a harness is fitted with only one
arrestor even though safe practise demands two hooks to be used. During static work
this causes no problems. They only arise when transitioning to a new location which
requires changing the anchor point. At this moment the user is unprotected. Since most
slips happen when moving, this problem should be addressed.

Figuur 13 safety harness with standard fall arrestor

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Figuur 14 glideloc fall arrestor

5.6 SCBA

The SCBA or self contained breathing apparatus is a set usually worn during fire
fighting or enclosed space entry. The brand used on board is mostly Drger. There was
another type in use but as soon as a replacement comes this one will be taken out of
service. This is to ensure compatibility with the masks.

The set consists of a harness holding the air bottle, the bottle, regulator, manometer
with alarm and mask. The harness consists of a reinforced back plate with straps and
connectors for the air bottle, shoulder straps, waist straps and a chest strap. These are
to keep the SCBA firmly in place during use. Next is the bottle. It is designed to deliver
breathable air to the person wearing it and has a filling pressure of 300 bar. It fits with
a quick screw connection to the piping system of the harness. This piping delivers air to
both the regulator and the manometer. The manometer gives an indication on the
pressure in the bottle and thus the amount of air left. It has an alarm whistle which
goes off at 50 bar. This warns the user that he is about to run out of air.

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The other connection has the regulator which fits on the mask with a quick attach
mechanism. The regulator reduces the pressure to breathable levels and provides air
only when needed. The mask attaches to the head with a 5 point head strap. This
keeps the mask in place during use. When putting on the mask a nearly air tight seal is
made. To keep any smoke or gas from entering the mask, a slight overpressure in the
mask is made as a redundancy.

Figuur 15 SCBA set ready for use (without mask)

Figuur 16 scba mask

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SEA REPORT

Name vessel: Elandsgracht

Port of departure: Esbjerg

Port of destination: Zeebrugge

Kind of incident: Hull puncture

Date of incident:

Time of incident: 03.00 LT

Position:

52556 N

003574 E

I, Charles Lesieur, Master of MV Elandsgracht, call sign PDYI, Gross Tonnage 8.448 tons, properly
stowed, manned and equipped, of Dutch registration, transporting 7.690 tons of general cargo. Port
of departure Esbjerg (Denmark) with ETD 08.00 LT. Port of destination Zeebrugge (Belgium) with
ETA 12.00 LT.
I wish to declare as follows:

In the night of November the 15th, we were sailing in the North Sea just east of the Netherlands. At
00.00 LT the first officer (name) handed over the watch to the third officer (name) who followed the
passage plan to Zeebrugge. The weather conditions were fine with a partly cloudy sky, relatively
good visibility, slight waves and force variable wind 3-4.

At approximately 03.00 LT, we were sailing in position 52556 N, 003574 E and proceeding on
course when a slight bang was heard. The officer on watch did not think any of it due to the current
weather, thinking it was just a wave. At 03.02 LT the high bilge water alarm sounded in the forward
machinery spaces. The second engineer went to investigate and found water had entered the ship.
He raised alarm and tried to identify the source of the water. A damage control team wearing
water protective clothing went in to identify the breach and reduce flooding. At 03.10 a hole
roughly 20cm in diameter was found on PS just above the waterline in the forward machinery
space. Measures were taken to prevent water coming in due to waves. This included stemming the
flow with wooden wedges and blocks and cloth and pumping out floodwater from the compartment
using a portable pump. No oil was pumped out due to the fact that the bilges were drained the day
before for maintenance. The next morning when the weather was a bit calmer a temporary plate
was welded over the hole. This plate held up until we reached our port of destination, Zeebrugge,
where an shore based firm permanently patched the hole.
I, undersigned, hereby reserve the right to extend this report at any time and place convenient.
Captain Lesieur
Master MV Elandsgracht,