200649 Exposure to caustic soda

The ship's crew was in the process of rigging the gangway soon after berthing with a light rain falling. An A/B, O/S and second officer went down to the jetty to position the gangway. Soon, all were suffering from skin burns and irritation over their bodies. The second officer applied skin-burn spray on the affected parts, while the two ratings did not opt for any treatment. Further investigations revealed that the previous vessel at the berth had discharged a cargo of caustic soda in bulk, some of which had spilt on the wharf and the fittings thereon. When our crew members went on the shore to rig the gangway, they inadvertently came into contact with the split caustic soda powder that was mixed with the rainwater by way of minor splashing during the operation. The incident was not considered serious enough to be immediately reported, but a report was sent to the company several days later.

Root cause/contributory factors

1. Spilt corrosive substance on wharf not visible after being mixed with rainwater;
2. Lack of proper communications: no warning from the agent or port authorities regarding the potential hazard on the quay, despite the likelihood that line handlers on the wharf may have suffered from caustic burns themselves.

Other valuable lessons

• Terminal operators must issue proper notification to all users when there are unexpected hazards, especially from spilt dangerous substances.
• Such information must be passed to ships via VTIS, port radio and Navtex broadcasts, berthing pilots and agents.
• Terminal operators must use all available means to remove such hazards at the earliest opportunity.
• Master should note protest against the terminal for lack of information regarding unknown and unexpected hazards like these.
• Any injury, however trivial, must be treated properly without delay, and include obtaining shore medical advice / treatment, if practicable.
• In case of an incident, the company should be advised without delay, so that the matter can be 'officially' taken up with operators, charterers, agents etc.
• Such incidents may impinge on the safe berth' clause in the charter party, if applicable.

Editor's Note: Exposure to highly corrosive and harmful can also occur on board ship. Improper handling of chemicals or poor housekeeping may pose a great risk to crews, especially if accidental spills are not properly wiped up. Further, the inner surfaces of exhaust gas uptakes and economisers are invariably coated with a highly corrosive and toxic, jelly-like residue and even if skin contact is not made, its damaging effects will soon be evident when the portions of clothing that did come into contact with the substance turn into gaping holes within a few hours.