Oil spill due to failure of cargo hose

Lessons can be learned from a recent incident involving the failure of a cargo hose, resulting in an oil spill, according to David Nichol, senior loss prevention executive, at UK P&I. He explained: “A tanker was fixed to load a petroleum product cargo at an offshore anchorage by ship-to-ship transfer (STS). After making fast, cargo tanks were inspected and pre-loading checklists completed. A flexible cargo hose supplied by the STS service provider was connected between the respective vessels’ manifolds. During transfer operations, the cargo hose ruptured, causing oil to spray on deck and overboard. The crew responded immediately by raising the alarm, instructing the storage vessel to stop the transfer and taking prompt action to confine and collect oil spillage on deck.