Procedural breakdown leads to rupture aboard tanker in Texas
Professional Mariner|June/July 2020
The 479-foot Fairchem Filly berthed at the Vopak Terminal on the Houston Ship Channel to offload hexene, a process that required pumping nitrogen into the vessel’s cargo tanks to maintain the chemical’s purity.
Casey Conley
Procedural breakdown leads to rupture aboard tanker in Texas

Two forward cargo tanks overpressurized early in the offloading process and one tank ruptured, releasing hexene into an adjacent ballast water tank, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said in a report on the May 30, 2019, incident. No one working at the shoreside terminal or on the ship was injured. No pollution was reported.

The ship, registered in the Marshall Islands, required $750,000 in repairs to the No. 3 port cargo tank and the steel deck on top of the tank that was also damaged.

Roughly $100,000 worth of hexene became contaminated.

The NTSB said Fairchem Filly’s crew and Vopak personnel deviated from established practices for cargo discharge, particularly the process of adding nitrogen to “blanket” the hexene. Communication also broke down between ship and shore crews at a pivotal point in the process. As a result, too much nitrogen entered the ship’s No. 3 port and starboard cargo compartments at a rate that exceeded the pressure relief valve’s ability to expel it.

“Since the nitrogen hose connection was improperly configured, the flow rate of nitrogen had to be controlled by the ship or terminal personnel by manually adjusting the dock or ship valve,” the NTSB report said. “Therefore, communication between the ship and terminal personnel was critical.”

この記事は Professional Mariner の June/July 2020 版に掲載されています。

7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。

この記事は Professional Mariner の June/July 2020 版に掲載されています。

7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。

PROFESSIONAL MARINERのその他の記事すべて表示
Mariner's role still unknown as autonomous shipping gains speed
Professional Mariner

Mariner's role still unknown as autonomous shipping gains speed

Mariners’ role still unknown as autonomous shipping gains speed

time-read
6 分  |
December - January2021
Piracy edges closer to home with wave of raids in southern Gulf
Professional Mariner

Piracy edges closer to home with wave of raids in southern Gulf

In the brief cellphone video recorded by a crewmember on the offshore supply vessel (OSV) Remas, the pirates walk back and forth on the deck of the ship, clenching their guns and using them to point as they order around the crew. Their faces are draped in clothing and bandanas.

time-read
4 分  |
December - January2021
Casualties
Professional Mariner

Casualties

NTSB: Dredge hit Texas gas pipeline, causing fire that killed four

time-read
4 分  |
December - January2021
IMO emissions report raises new concerns about methane slip
Professional Mariner

IMO emissions report raises new concerns about methane slip

A recent report from the International Maritime Organization (IMO) reveals that global shipping emissions increased nearly 10 percent from 2012 to 2018, with the industry facing a growing challenge concerning methane slip.

time-read
3 分  |
December - January2021
Bay State brothers find industry niche by making old into new
Professional Mariner

Bay State brothers find industry niche by making old into new

Zero non-conformities is what you want to hear when the U.S. Coast Guard inspects your tugboat. Once you’ve prepared your vessel, the inspectors come aboard to peruse your paperwork. They ask you pointed questions, to which they expect straightforward answers. Perusal completed, they then scrutinize all of the related safety systems, from bilge to antennas — even the ship’s bell.

time-read
5 分  |
December - January2021
Signals
Professional Mariner

Signals

A year into the pandemic, thousands ‘essentially indentured’ on ships

time-read
3 分  |
December - January2021
Analysis points to faulty loading, low ballast in Golden Ray rollover
Professional Mariner

Analysis points to faulty loading, low ballast in Golden Ray rollover

While the salvage of the sunken vehicle carrier Golden Ray has been delayed for months due to COVID-19 and the hurricane season, analysis by the U.S. Coast Guard has determined a possible cause for the rollover: a combination of vehicles placed too high on the ship’s decks, and not enough ballast water gave the placement of the cargo.

time-read
2 分  |
December - January2021
Seastreak newcomer pushing through dip in demand
Professional Mariner

Seastreak newcomer pushing through dip in demand

Two years ago, Seastreak LLC took delivery of Seastreak Commodore, a 600-passenger fast ferry, from Gulf Craft of Franklin, La. Designed by Australia-based Incat Crowther, the vessel is the largest of its kind in the United States and was built to meet the burgeoning demand for service in the New York-New Jersey market.

time-read
2 分  |
December - January2021
New year in a new world: Navigating COVID's maritime realities
Professional Mariner

New year in a new world: Navigating COVID's maritime realities

In a matter of days, the decorative time balls will drop, “Auld Lang Syne” will fill the air, and ships at anchor will sound their horns as the world welcomes in the new year.

time-read
4 分  |
December - January2021
Advanced props, rudders provide new efficiencies below the waterline
Professional Mariner

Advanced props, rudders provide new efficiencies below the waterline

It took a decade or two from the invention of the marine propeller in the 19th century for the technology to become widely accepted. Thereafter, adoption has been nearly universal, but progress toward improved efficiencies has come in fits and starts.

time-read
5 分  |
December - January2021