5.1 Has a safety officer been designated, trained to undertake this role and is there evidence to show that they are effectively performing duties associated with this role?
Note: One of the primary functions of the safety officer, who preferably should be an experienced seafarer, is to inspect all areas of the vessel on a regular basis for safety compliance and to report any deficiencies noted. The purpose is to raise awareness, prevent accidents and to identify regular occurrences that might require the operator’s intervention on a fleet-wide basis. The function of the safety officer may not involve equipment maintenance, although it does include identifying equipment deficiencies. Evidence that the Safety Officer has undertaken an appropriate Safety Officer training course should be provided. Training records must match the job description for the Safety Officer within the Safety Management System.
5.2 Are the ship’s officers familiar with the operation of fire fighting, lifesaving and other emergency equipment?
Note: Ship’s officers should be familiar with the operation of the fixed firefighting systems, the main and emergency fire pumps, the emergency steering gear, the donning and use of breathing apparatus and oxygen resuscitation equipment
5.3 Is personal protective equipment such as boiler suits, safety footwear, eye and ear protection, safety harnesses and chemical protective equipment etc. provided and as required, being worn?
Note: Documented guidance relating to the use of this equipment should be provided.
5.4 Are all hand torches approved for use in gas-hazardous areas?
Only torches that have been approved by a competent authority for use in flammable atmospheres must be used on board tankers. (ISGOTT 4.3.4) Note: This includes torches in use on deck, in the engine room and those supplied for use with the firemen’s outfits.
5.5 Are regular safety meetings held, are the minutes recorded and does the operator provide shore management responses?
Note: Safety Committee Meetings are intended to permit discussion among the vessel’s officers and ratings where these relate to safety. Safety meetings should not be used for the purposes of instruction or training.
5.6 Is there a procedure for the reporting, investigation and close-out of accidents, incidents, non- conformities and near misses? Is this procedure being followed up with proper reporting, recording, investigation and close out of action items?
Note: Check that all incident, accidents and near misses are properly recorded and reported to the shore office. Any action items generated are tracked and closed out.
5.7 Is a completed ISGOTT Ship/Shore Safety Check List (SSSCL) available and are its provisions being complied with?
Any non-compliance should be recorded as an Observation.
Notes: The ISGOTT SSSCL may be used or alternatively a checklist provided by the terminal or the operator which is to an equivalent standard.
The code letter ‘A’ (Agreement) against an item in the checklist indicates that agreement of a procedure should be made in the ‘Remarks’ column of the Check-List or communicated in some other mutually acceptable form. The code letter ‘P’ (Permission) indicates that in the case of a negative answer, operations should not be conducted without written permission from the appropriate authority. The code letter ‘R’ (Re- check) indicates items that are to be re-checked at agreed intervals by both parties, at periods stated in the declaration. The SSSCL should confirm that these items are being re-checked at the agreed intervals.
5.8 Are smoking regulations posted and being adhered to and are smoke rooms adequately identified?
The designated smoking areas should be agreed between the responsible officer and the Terminal Representative before operations start. The responsible officer should ensure that all persons on board the tanker are informed of the selected places for smoking and that suitable notices, in addition to the tanker’s permanent notices, are posted.
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Certain criteria should be met in the selection of smoking places whenever petroleum cargoes are being handled or when ballasting into non-gas free cargo tanks, purging with inert gas, gas freeing or tank cleaning operations are taking place.
The criteria are:
Smoking places should be confined to locations within the accommodation.
Smoking places should not have doors or ports that open directly on to open decks.
Account should be taken of conditions that may suggest danger, such as an indication of unusually high petroleum gas concentrations, particularly in the absence of wind, and when there are operations on adjacent tankers or on the jetty berth.
In the designated smoking places, all ports should be kept closed and doors into passageways should be kept closed except when in use
While the tanker is moored at the terminal, even when no operations are in progress, smoking can only be permitted in designated smoking places or, after there has been prior agreement in writing between the Responsible Officer and the Terminal Representative, in any other closed accommodation.
When stern loading/discharge connections are being used, particular care must be taken to ensure that no smoking is allowed in any accommodation or space, the door or ports of which open onto the deck where the stern loading/discharge manifold is located. (ISGOTT 4.2.2.3)
Safety matches or fixed (car-type) electrical cigarette lighters should be provided in approved smoking locations. All matches used on board tankers should be of the safety type. Matches should not be carried on the tank deck or in any other place where petroleum gas may be encountered. The restrictions of the use of 'E-cigarettes' should be the same as for normal cigarettes.
The use of all mechanical lighters and portable lighters with electrical ignition sources should be prohibited on-board tankers. Disposable lighters present a significant risk as an uncontrolled ignition source. The unprotected nature of their spark producing mechanism allows them to be easily activated accidentally. The carriage of matches and lighters through terminals should be prohibited. Severe penalties may be levied under local regulations for non-compliance. (ISGOTT 4.2.2.4)
5.9 Are external doors, ports and windows kept closed in port?
A tanker’s accommodation and machinery spaces contain equipment that is not suitable for use in flammable atmospheres and it is therefore important that petroleum gas is kept out of these spaces. All external doors, ports and similar openings should be closed when cargo operations are being conducted. If external doors have to be opened for access, they should be closed immediately after use. Where practical, a single door should be used for working access in port. Doors that must be kept closed should be clearly marked.
Allowance must be made to permit doors and openings to be open if the vessel is storing provided there is no possibility of gas entering the accommodation and that doors do not remain open for longer than is necessary.
Doors should not normally be locked in port. However, where there are security concerns, measures may need to be employed to prevent unauthorised access while at the same time ensuring that there is a means of escape for the personnel inside.
Although discomfort may be caused to personnel in accommodation that is completely closed during conditions of high temperatures and humidity, this discomfort should be accepted in the interests of safety. (ISGOTT 24.1) Engine room vents may be open. However, consideration should be given to closing them where such action would not adversely affect the safe operation of the engine room spaces served.
(ISGOTT SSSCL Guidelines No.17)
5.10 Is the accommodation space atmosphere being maintained at a higher pressure than that of the ambient air??
Air conditioning intakes must be set to ensure that the atmospheric pressure inside the accommodation is always greater than that of the external atmosphere. Air conditioning systems must not be set to 100% recirculation, as this will cause the pressure of the internal atmosphere to fall to less than that of the external atmosphere, due to extraction fans operating in sanitary spaces and galleys. (ISGOTT 4.1)
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