Maritime organisations address growing concerns over enclosed space fatalities

An alliance of 15 maritime organisations has agreed on a roadmap of activity to tackle growing industry concerns over incidents and fatalities related to work in enclosed spaces.

Joining IMCA at the Oil Companies International Marine Forum (OCIMF) - arranged meeting, which took place on 12 November 2024 at OCIMF’s offices in London, were 15 other maritime organisations and industry bodies.

While many governmental and intergovernmental bodies have issued new regulations and guidance in this area – including the International Maritime Organisation’s Guidelines on Entry to Enclosed Spaces and the update of the Code of Safe Working Practices in the UK – the industry continues to collaborate to highlight areas of concern in the hope of finding ways of reducing incidents related to work in these areas.

Following statistical analysis of data received from incidents related to enclosed spaces, the working group has now met three times and outlined a road map of activity for the months ahead. This includes an industry-wide webinar on Enclosed Space Incidents on Tuesday 26 November 2024.

Commenting on the workshop, Adrian White, Health, Safety & Security Manager, IMCA, said: “Participating in this joint industry workshop is welcome and helps us to highlight to all IMCA Members the growing industry concern from reported incidents and more worryingly fatalities related to work in enclosed spaces.

“The workshop brought together 15 maritime and industry bodies with a wealth of knowledge, with the aim of driving reductions in enclosed space incidents. IMCA analysis of vessel safety through the eCMID scheme – carried out by Mark Ford, IMCA Marine & Quality Manager, and his team – has further highlighted the need for safety management systems to fully incorporate plans and processes to ensure compliance with enclosed space entry controls and this remains a significant safety issue for the industry to address.

“IMCA Members can support this vital and urgent cross-industry effort by continuing to share information on incidents with us – in particular enclosed space incidents – so that we can help communicate to the wide industry the lessons learned in the hope of further reducing accidents at work.”

IMCA Members can report incidents to IMCA in confidence at incidents@imca-int.com.