Lessons learned

Lessons learned – falls into open hatches

An incident was reported recently of a person falling down a ladder that was not safely and properly closed. The hatch had not been checked by the crew before the work started, and the person was beaten badly.

Lesson learned - the right tool for the job

Lessons learned – Chemical exposure

The Norwegian Maritime Authority regularly receive casualty reports where crew members, during the course of their work, have been exposed to chemicals. Four incidents from 2022 demonstrate what can go wrong and how fast it can happen. At the same time, the lessons learned from these incidents can be easily observed and preventive measures can be implemented with little cost and effort in order to ensure safe operations when handling chemicals.

Learning from incidents – Falling / tripping in stairs / ladders

One of the most frequent personal injuries on board passenger-ships, are often falling or tripping while using stairs or ladders. Very little or no use of handrails at all, is in most cases the reason why people fall.

Lessons learned – Use of ECDIS maps and route planning

Many unwanted incidents, and groundings in particular, occur due to user errors or misunderstandings while using digital maps such as ECDIS. Both user errors and failure to update digital map systems may lead to critical and serious incidents.

Lessons learned – fell asleep on watch

The Norwegian Maritime Authority receives several accident reports where the listed cause is “fell asleep on watch”. In most cases, the crew do not suffer physical injury. However, vessels have been lost or sustained major material damage, and some accidents have caused environmental damage.