[Column] Prevention of Personal Accidents on Board (No.2) 9 May 2025 Tweet Capt. Toru Asai General Manager of Loss Prevention and Ship Inspection Department   ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This column features the article contributed by our Association to "Mariners' Digest Vol.72", published in January 2024 by the Japan Shipping Exchange, Inc. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------   Highlights In order to protect seafarers, risks onboard must be identified and evaluated. And effective preventive measures must be taken to remove or minimise those risks. PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT (PPE) must be used only when risks cannot be avoided or reduced to an acceptable level by safe working practices.     Introduction Following to our column “Prevention of Personal Accidents on Board (No.1)” , we will mainly explain a few accident examples and, focus on countermeasures to prevent personal accidents on board.     2. Introduction of accident examples   (1) Enclosed space entry   <Outline of the accident> On a chemical tanker staying at the anchorage of the loading port, past 08:00 in the morning, Chief officer was found unconscious in a cargo tank. He was immediately transferred to a hospital ashore, but died. The cause of death was oxygen deficiency.   <Cause of the accident> The chief officer entered the cargo tank to check and remove the residual oil. The chief officer entered into the cargo tank alone. No watch man was assigned on deck. No one was informed it. No gas check carried out before entering. (No evidence that the safety of the inside of the cargo tank was confirmed by a gas detector.) Gas free fan was not in operation at the time of the tank entry. Suspected that the chief officer becam