为减少密闭空间的死亡事故，需要新的安全措施

网络示意图

　　Incidents resulting in fatalities of crew working in enclosed spaces on board ships are rising, despite the best efforts of various parties. New safety measures are needed to stem the tide.

　　尽管各方都竭尽全力，但船员在船舶密闭空间工作导致的死亡事故仍在增加，需要采取新的安全措施来力挽狂澜。

　　Despite the wealth of information and advice already available relating to the safety of crew entering and working in enclosed spaces on board ships, the death toll from such incidents remain at an alarming level, according to Ashok Srinivasan, Manager, Maritime Technology and Regulation at BIMCO.

　　BIMCO海事技术与监管经理Ashok Srinivasan先生表示，尽管在船员进入船舶密闭空间工作方面有大量的安全信息和建议，但此类事件造成的死亡人数仍处于令人震惊的水平。

　　Most accidents occur when a crew member enters an enclosed and oxygen-deficient space, such as a tank for cleaning, without following all safety precautions and personal protection measures. When the incident is discovered, another crew member or possibly more, often enter the same space to rescue their colleague and suffer the same fate - often within minutes - because of oxygen-deficient or toxic air.

　　大多数事故发生在船员进入密闭且缺氧的空间（例如清洗油罐时），没有遵循全部的安全预防措施和个人防护措施。当事故发生后，经常会有另一名或数名船员进入同一个地点营救其同事，并由于缺氧或空气有毒而遭受同样的命运（通常在几分钟之内）。

　　Lack of enclosed space working gear

　　缺少密闭空间工作装备

　　One of many reasons for the rising death toll is a lack of proper safety equipment.

　　死亡人数上升的原因之一是缺乏合适的安全装备。

　　“A firefighter must wear firefighting gear, a person working over the side must wear a life-vest and working aloft requires the use of a safety harness. For enclosed spaces, several pieces of equipment must be kept on standby for use during an emergency, but the person entering the space is not required to wear anything except a portable multi-gas detector,” Srinivasan says.

　　Srinivasan先生表示，“消防员必须穿戴消防装备，在船舷外工作的人必须穿戴救生背心，在高空作业必须使用安全带。密闭空间必须配备几台设备以保证在紧急情况下使用，但对于进入密闭空间的人员，除便携式气体检测仪外无需穿戴其他任何装备。”

　　A person has very little time to survive when the atmosphere is oxygen-deficient or toxic, but a personal gas meter will only sound an alarm when sufficient suspect air has passed through its sensors. At that time, the person in the enclosed space would have inhaled the same, if not more oxygen-deficient air. In most cases, the physical and mental abilities are greatly affected without the person being aware of it, and it only takes moments to lose consciousness in such spaces.

　　当缺氧或空气有毒时，人们几乎没有逃生时间，但只有足量的可疑气体通过传感器时，气量仪才会发出警报。与此同时，密闭空间的人会吸入等量气体，否则就是缺氧。在大多数情况下，人们的身心能力在不易察觉的情况下受到极大影响，因此在密闭空间中失去意识只需片刻。

　　“Once the gas meter sounds an alarm, the victim is expected to make his or her way out, which sometimes involves climbing a ladder to the entrance of the space. Future design of gear should include breathing apparatus that is user-friendly and light enough for the worker to wear when working in an enclosed space, "Srinivasan says.

　　Srinivasan先生表示，“一旦气量仪发出警报，受害者会急切求生，有时需要攀爬梯子才能返回入口。未来设计的装备，包括呼吸装置应更加人性化和轻巧，以便工作人员在密闭空间中工作时也可以佩戴。”

　　New standards needed

　　需要新标准

　　The topic of lack of equipment and safety measures for working in enclosed spaces is being discussed by BIMCO and the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), and it has been agreed to develop a new standard to encompass these requirements.

　　BIMCO和国际标准化组织（ISO）正在讨论在密闭空间中缺乏工作装备和安全措施的问题，并且决定开发一种包含此类要求的新标准。

　　“Enclosed space fatalities could be avoided if there is a greater degree of involvement from all stakeholders and a higher level of preparation, including training," Srinivasan says.

　　Srinivasan先生表示，“如果所有利益相关方的参与程度更高，并且包括培训在内的准备工作能达到更高的水平，密闭空间的死亡事故是可以避免的。”

　　The rise in fatalities is the result of a combination of factors that must be corrected and acted upon: insufficient regulations; bad design; inadequate procedures; lack of implementation; and a need for proper safety gear at work.

　　死亡人数上升是多种因素共同造成的，这些须改正的因素有：规章制度不足、设计不良、程序不充分、缺乏执行力以及适合工作的安全装备。

　　Investigations have identified a number of contributory aspects to the problem:

　　non-compliance with procedures

　　poor supervision

　　complacency and over-familiarity leading to short cuts being taken

　　monitoring equipment not used or not working properly

　　improper action in case of an emergency.

　　调查发现，导致该问题的原因有：

　　不遵守程序；

　　监管不力；

　　过度自信想走捷径；

　　不使用监控设备或设备不能正常工作；

　　紧急情况下的不当行为。

　　At recent BIMCO committee meetings, a variety of ideas have been discussed, some of which should be tackled at company level and some during the design process of equipment, in order to increase safety of the crew and reduce the number of fatalities:

　　在BIMCO最近的委员会议上，一揽子想法被提出讨论，其中一些应该从公司层面上处理，还有一些应在设备设计过程中解决，目的就是提高船员的安全性并减少事故死亡人数：

　　Drills: The International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) requires emergency training and drills to be conducted once every two months. Current drills are based on an emergency scenario where the starting point is that someone is already lying unconscious in the space and needs immediate rescue. The drills focus on the rescue rather than the entry to the enclosed space.

　　演习：国际海上人命安全公约（SOLAS）要求每两个月进行一次应急训练和演习。当前的演习是基于已有人在密闭空间中昏迷，需要立即救援的紧急情况。训练目的是救援，而不是进入封闭空间。

　　In addition to mandatory drills, others testing non-emergency scenarios should be made obligatory for crew officers and shore workers.

　　除强制演习外，其他非紧急情况的测试演习也应成为船员和岸上工作人员的强制义务。

　　Training: Today, most shore-based training programmes for seafarers only require attendance, after which the attendee simply collects a certificate; the elements of assessment and examination are largely non-existent. On most ships, only senior officers can operate or check atmosphere testing instruments.

　　培训：如今，大多数海员的岸上培训计划只要求参与，然后学员即可领取证书，基本的评估和考试是不存在的。在大多数船舶上，只有高级船员才能操作或检测空气测试仪器。

　　Assessment and grading of participants should be made an important part of the training. Grading should reflect the performance of the candidate and point towards the need for further training, if required.

　　对学员的评分和考核应成为培训的重要内容。评分应反映出学员的表现，如有需要，一并指出其需进一步培训。

　　Office involvement: Internal audits largely look at documentary evidence of past enclosed space work procedures and records. While drills are witnessed occasionally, audits are conducted in relatively short time, which leaves insufficient time to look into the practical aspects of such work.

　　官方参与：内部审计主要审查以往封闭空间工作程序和记录的文件证据。偶尔一些演习会被监督，但该监督工作却会在相对较短的时间内进行，因此没有充足时间来研究此类工作的实际方面。

　　Records are an indicator of past performance and drills and exercises are an indicator of future performance. To gauge future performance - and as a means of self-improvement - companies should plan sailing audits (internal) that ensure adequate time for an auditor to witness drills, which should include emergency scenarios and the routine procedures for enclosed space entries.

　　记录代表以往表现，演习和训练则代表未来。为了评估演习效果作为自我改进的一种手段，公司应计划进行内部航行审查，确保审查员有足够的时间监督演习，其中应包括紧急情况和进入封闭空间的常规程序。

图源：Vistrato Limited 2018

　　Internal audits should target enclosed-space work procedures and apply justified repercussion for non-compliance or complacency. Lack of operational gas meters, spare parts, non-familiarity with the operation and testing should be seen in the same seriousness as a major non-conformity. The aim of such an exercise should be to emphasize the fear factor when working in enclosed spaces.

　　内部审查应聚焦封闭空间的工作程序，并对不合规或自负行为采取合理的应对措施。缺少可使用的气量仪、备件、对操作和测试不熟练应视为严重不合格。如此做的目的是要强调在封闭空间工作下这些可怕的因素。

　　The statistics in the graph above give an overview of the problem and are based on incidents involving shipboard and maritime shore workers.

　　上图中的统计数字（基于涉及船上和岸上工作人员的事件）对这个问题进行了概述。

　　来源： BIMCO上海

来源：吾爱航运网