201874 Steam burn

Steam burn

The crew of a tanker were undertaking cargo tank cleaning operations while at sea. Two boilers were in use. The deck steam valve in the engine room was unintentionally opened far more than the required 20–40%. This resulted in a surplus of steam and decreased the water level in the boiler. The feed pump started (in auto mode) to replenish the water in the boiler, which in turn created a low level of water in the hot well.

Due to the surplus steam, the return line was filled with a volume of steam that exceeded the condenser capacity. Steam filled the condenser and subsequently escaped into the hot well. Low level alarms were activated on the boiler and then in the hot well.

Working in haste, the EOW was focused solely on the boiler low level alarm and did not check the level gauge for the hot well tank before opening it. The steam and water mixture in the hot well splashed on to his feet, causing a severe burn on his lower left leg.

The victim had to be repatriated for final recovery.

 

 

Lessons learned

• Mistakes made upstream of a process may have serious unintended consequence later and at point downstream in the process.
• Try and keep your overall situational awareness about you when undertaking a specific task.