A network for commercial divers about commercial diving.

Global Industries has become the ninth International Contractor Member (ICO) of the International Marine Contractors Association (IMCA). Other ICOs – a membership category established in 1996 – are Acergy, Allseas, Heerema Marine Contractors, Helix Energy Solutions Group, J Ray McDermott, Saipem, Subsea 7 and Technip.

“Our ICO member companies are involved with IMCA on a world-wide basis, supporting all aspects of the association’s work and with representation on IMCA’s Council, which provides political direction and support for the Association,” explains Hugh Williams, Chief Executive of IMCA, which has over 650 member companies in more than 50 countries. Read the rest of this entry »

Near Miss: Unexpected Lowering of a Suspended Load

A member has reported an incident in which there was an unexpected lowering of a suspended load during a lifting operation which had the potential to cause significant injury. During maintenance of an ROV winch system, a yoke was being supported in position by a shore crane to allow a specific task to be conducted. The shore-side crane was provided by the port authority which had sub-contracted it in, along with a rigging team from the port authority. As the end of the working day approached, the crane operator sounded the crane horn to indicate that time was running out. The vessel team agreed with the banksman that all persons would work for an extra thirty minutes to complete the task. However, this agreement was not communicated to the crane driver. Five minutes later the crane operator sounded the horn again as he wished to lower the load. The vessel team and banksman gave little acknowledgement to this. Shortly after this the crane operator lowered the load and shut down the crane as his working day was over.

A member has reported an incident in which there was an unexpected lowering of a suspended load during a lifting operation which had the potential to cause significant injury. During maintenance of an ROV winch system, a yoke was being supported in position by a shore crane to allow a specific task to be conducted.

The shore-side crane was provided by the port authority which had sub-contracted it in, along with a rigging team from the port authority. As the end of the working day approached, the crane operator sounded the crane horn to indicate that time was running out. The vessel team agreed with the banksman that all persons would work for an extra thirty minutes to complete the task. However, this agreement was not communicated to the crane driver. Five minutes later the crane operator sounded the horn again as he wished to lower the load. The vessel team and banksman gave little acknowledgement to this. Shortly after this the crane operator lowered the load and shut down the crane as his working day was over.

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Near Miss: Loss of a Small Crane (‘Cherry Picker’) Wire

A member has reported an incident in which a crane winch wire was lost during light subsea lifting work. The winch wire and the load dropped on to the seabed near to working divers.

A small crane, sometimes referred to offshore as a ‘cherry picker’, was being used to deploy a small tool basket to a diver working on a subsea manifold. It had been identified on the previous shift there was insufficient wire on the crane winch drum to reach the seabed; however there was sufficient winch wire to reach the roof of the manifold. The deck crew and dive supervisors had been briefed by the previous shift regarding the short length of wire.

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Hand Injury: Injection of Hydraulic Fluid

IMCA has received information about a hand injury caused by leaking pressurised hydraulic fluid on a drilling rig. A person was searching for the source of a small hydraulic leak. The leak was located and a request made for the hydraulic pump to be shut down so that the damaged hose could be replaced. The pump was duly shut down. Then the person involved placed his index finger (whilst wearing double gloves) over the damaged spot on the hose so as not to lose the location of the leak.

The person involved was unaware that hydraulic pressure remained on the system following shut down of the pump and that this pressure had actually increased for around two seconds after the pump shut down (owing to back pressure). Hydraulic fluid burst through the damaged spot on the hose and was injected through the double gloves into the person’s index finger.

Surgery was required to find and remove the injected oil from the finger and hand of the person.

This incident serves as a timely reminder to maintain vigilance and awareness of the very serious potential hazards and risks associated with working with pressurised hydraulic fluid.

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Tumble Dryer Fire Onboard a Vessel

A member has reported an incident in which there was a small fire inside the drum of a tumble dryer on a vessel offshore. A burning smell was detected on the bridge of the vessel concerned and an investigation into the source was commenced. It was traced to the laundry where a small fire in the drum of a tumble dryer was observed. The fire was extinguished and the dryer contents removed and doused to cool.

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Bell Bottom Door Hydraulic Operating System Failure

A member has reported the failure of a bell bottom door hydraulic operating system. The failure occurred while carrying out standard bell recovery operations using the port dive bell on a twin bell system.

While attempting to close the dive bell bottom door, it was noted that the bottom door did not fully close and that the bottom door had castellated. Further attempts were made to close the door fully which exacerbated the situation, resulting in the bottom hatch being jammed more solidly.

The divers carried out an internal dive bell inspection and found that the hydraulic control system had failed due to hydraulic system oil loss.

Several unsuccessful attempts to rotate the bottom door were made including topping up the hydraulic oil system tank and also removing sections of the internal hydraulic operating pipework in an attempt to rotate the bottom hatch manually.

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Near Miss: ROV Fuse Bolt Failure

A member has reported an incident in which a crew member was narrowly missed by the head of a fuse bolt which had been shot out of a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) manipulator arm at high speed. It occurred as normal pre-dive checks were being completed on the ROV. The manipulator arm being tested was cycled and, during the test, the fuse bolt securing the jaws of the manipulator failed. This caused the head of the bolt to shoot out of the manipulator arm at high speed. The head of the bolt passed close to an ROV technician who could have been severely injured had it hit him. There were no injuries.

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Schilling Safety Bulletin

Affected products: All Rigmaster, Conan, and Orion slave arms and manipulator systems, Tital Manipulator Systems.

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Trapped Diver Umbilical Incident Resulting in Diver Fatality

A member has reported an incident where a trapped diver umbilical resulted in his death. During the surface supplied diver operation, the diver was deployed to the bottom (56m) to locate fixing points for davits which required him to travel along the pipeline and for the barge to be moved into position.

During the diving operation the barge moved astern. It is thought that this movement caused the diver’s umbilical to become snagged on an object on the seabed cutting off his gas supply. On the diver’s umbilical there were two ‘D’ rings – one at 39m (~130’) and one at 50m (165’). The 50m ‘D’ ring was attached to the bell lift wire controlling the maximum excursion of the diver; it was the 39m ‘D’ ring that became snagged on the seabed. The diver went on to bail out, reported that his umbilical was fouled and made his way back to the wet bell where he appeared to have been attempting to put the bell pneumo tube into his helmet when he was found by the standby diver who had been deployed from the surface. Both video and audio communications were lost soon after the diver reported his umbilical was fouled. Soon after the standby diver arrived at the wet bell attempts were made to recover it and the divers to the surface. As the wet bell was being recovered, since the diver’s umbilical was fouled on the seabed, he was dragged out of the wet bell. This occurred twice before the standby diver freed the trapped umbilical and eventually the diver was recovered to the surface but was pronounced dead by the doctor on board the vessel.

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Lost Time Injury: Gangway Deployment

A member has reported an incident in which a person suffered a broken leg during gangway deployment. Prior to arrival at the quayside, a vessel’s double sectioned gangway (see Figure 1) was lowered and extended, in readiness for use, in accordance with onboard procedures.

Approaching the quayside, the bridge was informed that berthing plans for the vessel had changed. The change of berth required the use of a different gangway and the bosun was instructed to recover the now partly deployed gangway. The bosun and an able seaman (AB) started work on this task but failed to follow established procedures.

The recovery procedure required the gangway to be initially lowered to allow tension to come off the lifting wires and at the same time allow the securing pins to be removed for stowing, before then raising the gangway back up to the stowed position.

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Helicopter Task Group Update: Briefing on S-92 Helicopter Fleet

The Helicopter Task Group has published the attached briefing concerning Sikorsky S-92 helicopters.

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Importance of Inspecting Fall Protection Equipment

IMCA has been made aware of a number of examples of fall protection equipment failing owing to poor or sub-standard equipment:

♦ Safety Alert 09-17 – Near Miss – New Fall Protection Equipment Failure – published by the International Association of Drilling Contractors (IADC) (attached), notes that a new ‘pass-through tie-off adapter’ was only hot-glued and did not have the required stitching.

♦ Whilst teaching a fall protection class an instructor found a new piece of fall protection equipment that was not properly sewn. This equipment was brand new, still in the bag and made by a reliable manufacturer. One of the lanyards was improperly sewn and the webbing could be pulled apart by hand.

♦ In another similar instance, it was discovered that the rivet from the secondary lock on the snap hook of a lanyard had become damaged and allowed the secondary lock to come free from the hook. The hook was not involved in a fall event.

Members are encouraged to re-emphasise to their personnel the importance of thorough inspection of all fall protection equipment before and after use.

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Failure of Gas Supply to Diving Bell

A member has reported an incident in which there was a failure of the breathing system in a diving bell. During diving operations at a storage depth of 102 metres, bell checks were being carried out on one of the bells. The bellman did a full function test on the built-in-breathing system (BIBS) of the bell and it was established that the gas supply system had reduced flow to the BIBS at depth. After getting all divers to put on their own individual BIBS in the bell, to test the gas system, it was found that there was reduced and insufficient gas to supply the full dive team in the bell.

The following actions were taken as part of the investigation.

The dive team made similar checks on the BIBS in the second (port side) diving bell and the same problem was discovered. The starboard bell was surfaced and BIBS was then checked at the surface. The BIBS system could supply three divers at the surface, but under pressure the supply to the divers was inadequate.

The dive system was a new build and it was the first time it had been at a depth of 102 metres. The BIBS system had not been fully tested at this depth. The regulators were stripped to check for defects and none were found. A test rig was then set up in the workshop to mimic the BIBS arrangement and the pressure in the diving bell, where the flow was similarly found to be inadequate.

The problem was solved by fitting a higher performance regulator. This was found to give a far better flow rate on surface. The bell was then blown back down to storage depth, all three divers donned BIBS and a full function test was carried out. Good flow was reported from all divers. The same process was repeated with the port side diving bell with good results.

The company involved drew the following lessons from the incident:

♦ A full function test of the breathing system (BIBS and dive hats/band masks) at all maximum working depths should be conducted whenever there is significant change, including the following occasions:

– when a new build saturation system is first put into commission

– if the depth range of the dive system has changed to a deeper depth

– following any changes, any maintenance or any modifications

♦ It can be shown that during set-up for any new dive operations (e.g. at new locations or new depths) a simple purge of the BIBS and dive hats/band masks is not adequate to establish the full functionality of the breathing system.

Torn Ankle Ligaments

The Marine Safety Forum has published the attached safety flash concerning a crew member injured whilst stepping from one vessel to another when no gangway was available.

Potential Threat to Aviation Posed by Skysails

We have received two safety alerts – from CHC Helicopter and the European Organisation for Safety of Air Navigation (Eurocontrol) – concerning a recent incident involving a Skysail, an experimental supplement to standard ship propulsion.

Online developments related to the invaluable International Marine Contractors Association (IMCA) ‘Common Marine Inspection Document’ (CMID) are well on target. A new electronic format – the ‘e-CMID’; and a secure online database, both of which are intended to further enhance the consistent completion and availability of completed CMID reports are currently under development. Both will be demonstrated at IMCA’s Annual Seminar 4-5 November in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Read the rest of this entry »

Decompression illness (DCI) is not considered to be an issue within the regulated areas of the offshore oil and gas diving industry today, a survey of diving contractor members of the International Marine Contractors Association (IMCA) has revealed.

“We recently asked our diving contractor members to provide data on the incidence of DCI such as the numbers of events in air and saturation diving as well as their frequency, and to provide feedback on whether they felt this was a significant issue,” explains Jane Bugler, IMCA’s Technical Director. “We received 17 responses identifying two possible DCIs. One seemingly typical response stated, ‘we have not had a DCI for the past 12 years’.”

The survey indicated that the oil and gas offshore diving industry has, over the years and through the structured and widely implemented approach of a self-regulating industry, achieved a significant reduction in such critical events.

“It is possible, however, that DCI remains an issue in unregulated areas or in other areas of commercial diving,” says Jane Bugler.  ”This leaves an opportunity for clients, governments and contractors to help continue the spread and implementation of this structured approach and thereby to further reduce these occurrences if they do indeed exist elsewhere.”

Well over 600 companies in 52 countries are now members of the International Marine Contractors Association (IMCA). This news will be officially announced at a function being held at Offshore Europe on Thursday 10 September by the association, which represents offshore, marine and underwater engineering companies.

“Only a year ago we were able to announce we had reached 500 members, and a year before that at Offshore Europe 2007 we announced we had 400 companies in 47 countries; now we have reached 625!” says Hugh Williams, IMCA’s Chief Executive. “The past year has seen truly dramatic growth in terms of both the number of member companies and geographical reach – no mean feat considering the state of the economy and the industry.  Our members are realising the benefit of speaking with one voice; benefitting from the IMCA ‘knowledge base; and, sharing information’.” Read the rest of this entry »

DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES — Veolia ES Industrial Services has recently delivered a design-built, 1,000-foot  (305-m) saturation dive system to Dulam Subsea Solutions of Dubai. Veolia designed and built the system at its in-house manufacturing facility in Neenah, Wisconsin over an 18-month period. It was delivered to the customer in early August.

Veolia’s engineering staff was responsible for all design services. The 1,000-foot (305-m) SAT system was designed to meet ABS and IMCA standards, with the latest technological advancements, including a hyperbaric rescue chamber.  A team of in-house welders, pipe fitters and other specialists then built the components and assembled the system at Veolia’s full-service manufacturing facility. Read the rest of this entry »

HOUSTON — The International Marine Contractors Association (IMCA) stated that is had received “strong support and serious expressions of concern from across the global industry” in regards to the news of proposed changes to interpretations of the Jones Act by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP).

The proposed policy modifications would change interpretations of rules in the Jones Act for vessels operating in the offshore oil and gas industry. Read the rest of this entry »

LBJ Maritime Inc, a USA-owned and operated company, and KBA Training Centre Pte Ltd of Singapore have announced their third series of IMCA classes in Lake Charles, Louisiana.  This follows the successful first and second classes, where the classes achieved a 100% pass rate.

The courses offered are IMCA ALST, Air Supervisor, and  Bell Supervisor training, which will be held in Lake Charles, LA starting August 3rd, 2009 and will run through August 13th.  The ALST courses do not require pre-qualification, however the Air Supervisor and Bell Supervisor courses do have pre-requisites to apply.   Read the rest of this entry »