Question 1

Your engine team followed the company's written procedure for draining a thermal oil system, but two crew were badly burned when hot oil sprayed out. The procedure itself turned out to be inadequate. As Chief Engineer, what does this mean for how you treat 'compliance' with written procedures?

Accepted Answer

Compliance with a written procedure is necessary but not sufficient — procedures themselves need periodic review against real task conditions, especially for hazardous, infrequent jobs The FEBIMA investigation found the crew followed company procedures, but the procedures lacked clear instructions for safe drainage of a contaminated thermal oil system — a task that may only be carried out every few months. Hazardous, infrequent tasks are exactly the ones where written procedures most need periodic, critical review, not just sign-off that they exist.

Question 2

You're draining a thermal oil system that was running normally a short time ago. Before opening the drain point, what should you confirm?

Accepted Answer

That the system has cooled and depressurised, and you are positioned clear of the drain point's discharge path On the dredger MV Amazone, two crew members draining a thermal oil system after months of contamination were sprayed with hot oil, suffering severe burns. The investigation found company procedures lacked clear instructions for safe drainage — confirming the system has cooled and depressurised, and standing clear of the discharge path, are essential before opening any drain point on a hot oil system.

Question 3

A thermal oil system has been contaminated and needs draining for cleaning. The written procedure tells you to open the drain valve but doesn't specify a cooling-down period or PPE. What should you do?

Accepted Answer

Treat the gap as a hazard in its own right: apply a suitable cooling/depressurising period and full PPE before proceeding, and raise the procedure gap with the Chief Engineer The FEBIMA investigation into the MV Amazone incident found that although the crew followed company procedures, those procedures lacked clear instructions for safely draining a thermal oil system. A procedure that's silent on cooling time and PPE for a hazardous task is a gap to be closed before the job starts — not a green light to skip those precautions.