At the ninth session of the IMO Sub-Committee on Carriage of Cargoes and Containers (CCC9), Institute of Marine Engineering, Science and Technology (IMarEST) member Dónal Burke presented research demonstrating that enclosed spaces on ships can be more deadly than previously thought.
“Enclosed spaces onboard all types of ships present serious risks to personnel performing their routine duties, and many mariners have died over the years while entering and working in these spaces,” explains Burke, who has been researching the risks and dangers of enclosed spaces since 2015.
He is currently the lead researcher into the issue with the City of Glasgow College. In 2021, his work was awarded Research Project of the Year in the Herald Higher Education Awards.
Missing calculations
There has been a longstanding appreciation that oxygen depletion, carbon dioxide, and carbon monoxide build-up in enclosed spaces can harm mariners. Current IMO guidelines say that mariners should not enter an enclosed space, such as a chain locker or cargo hold, when the oxygen level is below 19.5%, the carbon dioxide level is above 0.5%, or the carbon monoxide level is more than 35ppm.
However, Burke discovered that calculations for the rates of oxygen depletion and build-up of carbon dioxide had not been done before. “Everyone is aware that oxygen depletion is dangerous. Everyone is aware that carbon dioxide is dangerous, but no one had calculated how quickly [dangerous levels] can be reached.”
Read the full article Mariner safety in enclosed spaces discussed at IMO at The Marine Professional.