Chapter 19

Gas Tanker: Personal safety precautions & check lists

Personal protection precautions
The minimum requirements for life saving equipment are laid down in
the rules and are not dealt with here in this chapter. However normal
tanker practice and seamanship coupled with instructions from
company and recommendations of internationally accepted
organisations must be studied and followed to protect a crewmember
from the hazards of working with liquid gases. Liquefied gases are
carried at extremely low temperatures in addition to being toxic,
flammable and hazardous.
Protective clothing
Suits, gloves, boots, goggles, face shields and other gear must be
suitable for the kind of cargo being handled. Many plastics become
brittle and crack when subject to low temperatures or can be dissolved
in certain cargoes. PVC clothing is less susceptible to absorption and
should be worn when exposure to vapour or liquid emissions are
involved.
To avoid cold burns, gloves in particular must be used when handling
cold equipment, valves. Face protection must be used when there is a
danger of liquid splash or vapour emission (e.g. dismantling cargo
equipment, sampling etc) and respiratory equipment must be used
when cargo operations involve toxic or asphyxiating gases.
Cargo vapour may be absorbed into working clothes in sufficient
quantities to create a hazard when taken into accommodation, galleys,
smoke rooms etc.
Full use must be made of changing rooms between deck areas and
accommodation and of showers, which may be provided. Personal
hygiene is very important of the cargo is toxic.
Tanks which are not gas free, deficient in oxygen and contain smoke
must not be entered unless absolutely necessary.
Correct type of breathing apparatus must be used depending on the
type of cargo being handled:
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Canister type of filtering equipment

Canisters are available for absorption of a variety of vapours but the
following precautions must be used:

The correct type of canister should be fitted when working with a

particular type of cargo or cargo vapour.

The canister must not be open to the atmosphere until needed for use,
as they are ineffective after a certain time once opened. They also have
a limited shelf life and therefore the expiry dates must be checked prior
their use.

They must never be used in enclosed spaces. Such equipment only

filters out toxic elements but never generate oxygen in an oxygen
deficient space. Special canisters are available for this purpose.

Breathing apparatus
These must be used as necessary by personnel engaged in cargo
operations involving toxic cargoes, firefighting and when entering
enclosed spaces. Small breathing apparatuses known as Emergency
Life Saving Appliances (ELSA) or Emergency Escape Breathing
Devices (EEBD) supplying air for about 10 to 15 minutes duration are
provide in select locations on ships. This equipment must be used only
for safe escape and for no other purposes.
Citadels
When certain toxic cargoes like chlorine are carried in gas carriers the
IGC code requires that a space within the accommodation be arranged
to provide a safe haven for personnel against the effects of a major
cargo release. This area is referred as a citadel. This area is generally
the cargo control room or the bridge and is capable of housing the
entire ships complement with about 4 hours of uncontaminated air.
Access must be quick and easily available from the open deck and the
accommodation areas via an airlock. This area also has a
decontamination shower adjacent to it.
Resuscitation
It is the best and quick method of reviving a victim who is incapable of
breathing himself. The victim must be removed from the contaminated
as early as possible and mouth-to-mouth resuscitation may be
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commenced until such time proper equipment arrives. However if

immediate evacuation of the victim from the contaminated area is not
possible, the person providing mouth-to-mouth resuscitation in the
contaminated area may himself be over come by the gas. In this case
the person giving mouth-to-mouth resuscitating must himself wear a
breathing apparatus and remove the mask only when blowing air into
the victims lungs or a proper resuscitator must be used.
A resuscitation apparatus generally consists of a facemask connected
to a medical oxygen bottle via a control mechanism.
The manual version of this equipment contains a rubber bellow, which
draws air from the surrounding atmosphere and forces it into the
victims lungs. Obviously it can be used only in fresh air.
All associated personnel must be trained into the use of the
resuscitation apparatus. This apparatus must never be kept locked and
the operating instructions properly displayed. The oxygen bottles must
always be kept charged.
Frost bite
Liquefied gas is super cold and may cause frostbite injury to personnel
handling it in an incorrect and careless manner. Warming the affected
area must be started immediately. Sometimes the victim is unaware of
the injury until it its too late. Wet rapid warming is the preferred method
of treating this injury. Alcohol and cigarettes decrease the blood flow
and must never be given to the patient.
Checklists
Our aim as operators on gas tankers is to safely carry out various
operations you have been introduced in previous chapters.
Check lists can be useful. It is completely appropriate to plan
ahead for a stressful event, but unless you take action on the
basis of those plans you are heading for a failure. The same
applies when making a checklist to streamline a certain
operation. A checklist is a great way to use time effectively and
pre vent important jobs from being forgotten, but only if you act
on them. Writing a list you never look at is pointless, or for that
matter simply ticking off a checklist just for the purpose of

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generating paperwork and maintaining a record is of no help to

the user.
Checklists if developed for a specific operation and used
correctly:

Promotes planning for the operation.

Ensure a consistent approach.

Serve as a memory aid.

Checklists help to ensure that an operation is conducted in a systematic

and comprehensive manner.

Checklists can provide a means of communication and a place to

record data for use for future reference.
Each shipping or management company has developed their
own checklists for various operations. Check what check lists are
available and used on your ship.
When studying the checklist do not go through it without thinking.
Give each item a sincere thought and understand:

What is to be done?

Why it is to be done?

When and how is it to be done?

The objective is not to fill up the checklist just to satisfy somebody but to
understand its requirements and compliance. The importance of
carrying out checks of shore items personally should not be overlooked.
The most used checklist Ship Shore safety checklist which needs to
be checked prior commencing cargo operations at almost all the ports
you may visit on board. Explanations on how and what to check is also
described in adequate detail in publications like ICS, Tanker Safety
Guide Liquefied Gas and SIGTTO Ltd. All the relevant parts A, B and C
need to be used for gas tanker operations.

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