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SAFETY & SECURITY Case study:
Death of electrician due to electrocution
Occurred onboard a vessel of another company
An oil tanker was on passage when the ship’s electrician, who had been
working alone, was fatally electrocuted while performing maintenance
of the inert gas scrubber electrical system
What happened?
Before starting work in the morning on the day of the incident, the second
engineer (2/E) held a Toolbox Talk to discuss the work planned for that day.
The electrician mentioned that he might work on the inert gas (IG) scrubber
pump starter panel, but he did not specify the items to be completed or the
timeframe of the work. No formal risk assessment, permit to work (PTW), or
Lock Out/Tag Out (LOTO) procedure were completed, despite all being specif-
ically required by the Safety Management System (SMS).
At about 11:30, the electrician told the engine cadet that he would be working
on the IG scrubber pump starter panel. The cadet did not question the elec-
trician about the work, nor did he tell any other engineering officer.
Figure 1: The IG scrubber pump starter panel was located on the engine room’s bottom
platform inside a local group starter panel (LGSP) cabinet, which had several sections:
Location of the electrician when the upper sections held starter controls for various types of machinery, while the
found. lower section contained the 440V power terminals. The cover over the power terminals
was fully removable (Figure 2). The LGSP cabinet had no horizontal divider between
Source: Investigation report by
the upper and lower section. Also, the three power cable terminals in the lower
Republic of the Marshall
section did not have covers over the power terminals to prevent accidental contact.
Islands Maritime Administrator
The pump starter panel door could
only be opened after turning the
main power breaker lever to the off
position, which de-energized the
equipment in the panel.
At 11:44, a low 440V insulation alarm
was activated in the engine control
room (ECR), but the engine team
could not identify the cause of the
alarm. The cadet was instructed to
tell the electrician to investigate the
cause of the alarm and proceeded
to the bottom platform where he
had last seen him.
On arriving at the LGSP cabinet,
the cadet found the unconscious
and unresponsive electrician Figure 2:
lying on the deck with his head
LGSP cabinet with IG scrubber pump starter panel
and hands inside the lower sec-
open and power input terminal cover removed
tion. The cadet removed the
by Slav Ostrowicki electrician from the LGSP cabinet Source: Investigation report by Republic of the
Britannia P&I Club by pulling on his safety shoes. Marshall Islands Maritime Administrator
8 MINERVA IN FOCUS – ISSUE 19 / Q1 2022
