1. The information available on this Safety Flash and our associated web site is provided in good faith and only for the purposes
of enhancing safety and best practice. For the avoidance of doubt no legal liability shall be attached to any guidance and/or
recommendation and/or statement herein contained.
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Marine Safety Forum – Safety Flash 13-26
Issued: 18th
June 2013
Subject: Bulk hose entanglement with Azi-pod propulsion unit
During preparations to deliver water to the platform the vessel was being manoeuvred in joystick
control by the Chief Officer, who was assisted on the bridge by the First Mate.
It was decided to use the aft manifold connection on the starboard quarter for the water transfer
and two AB’s were standing by ready to connect the hose.
After being lowered by the crane the hose was observed to sink in the water close to the stern cut-
away, under which the Azipod units are mounted. Almost immediately an alarm sounded alerting
the watch-keepers to a potential problem. In order to minimize the risk of damaging the pod further,
it was shut down straight away by the bridge team.
Attempts were then made, using the platform crane, to try and recover the hose but this proved to
be impossible because of the tension on the hose caused by its entanglement in the pod. Finally
after an hour it was decided to release the hose from the platform and lower it down to the ship.
The vessel then proceeded back to port, at reduced speed, using the port Azipod unit for
propulsion. Upon arrival divers confirmed that the hose was indeed severely entangled in the
starboard Azipod, but luckily no damage to the propulsion unit or to the individual propeller blades
was discovered.
Hose seen after becoming entangled in the Azi-pod

2. The information available on this Safety Flash and our associated web site is provided in good faith and only for the purposes
of enhancing safety and best practice. For the avoidance of doubt no legal liability shall be attached to any guidance and/or
recommendation and/or statement herein contained.
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Significant Factors include;
Learning’s / recommended action(s):
1) Use of aft manifold connections to be fully risk assessed for similar operations where potential
for hoses to be drawn into propulsion units is higher.
2) Vessel to be positioned further from offshore installation where possible.
3) Offshore personnel advised to ensure that bulk hoses are inspected regularly and that they
meet the requirements of the NWEA guidelines, especially with regards to floatation collars.
4) Consideration to be given to arrangements such as weak links to minimise the potential for
further damage due to increased difficulty in releasing the hose.
The vessels close proximity to the
platform (15m-18m), probably allowing
a bight of hose to develop on the
surface
The decision to use the aft manifold
connection instead of mid-ships for the
hose transfer
The lightly laden deck resulted in the
stern cut-away being closer to the
surface presenting a greater
opportunity for hoses to come into
contact with propulsion units