The following case study is from CHIRP Maritime’s Superyacht Feedback. It is the first superyacht-specific programme and publication dedicated to improving safety in the maritime industry through vital knowledge sharing, anonymous reporting, analysis and feedback via the Superyacht Maritime Advisory Board.

Initial report
Our reporter worked on a commercial yacht under 500gt that claimed to have no enclosed spaces on board. Therefore, it didn’t have gas-detection equipment and it was impossible to determine whether bilge spaces, chain lockers, steering flats, etc., were safe to enter or work in. The reporter sent this message to CHIRP because they believe this is incorrect and that gas-detection instrumentation should be supplied to all superyachts.

CHIRP comments
Given various enclosed spaces within a superyacht, the reporter is justified in questioning the absence of gas-monitoring equipment. Gas-testing equipment is essential for ensuring safe entry into all enclosed spaces. Enclosed spaces exist on all vessels; superyachts are no exception.

Areas such as engine rooms, fuel and water tanks, below-deck storage compartments, hull voids and electrical control rooms pose serious risks, including oxygen depletion, toxic-gas accumulation and the potential for fire or explosion.

Given these dangers, gas-testing equipment is not optional, it is essential. Every vessel must be equipped to conduct gas tests as part of a structured permit-to-work system. Without this, there is a real and preventable risk of asphyxiation, poisoning or catastrophic incidents.

While regulations mandate safety measures for enclosed spaces, these measures are not consistently implemented at the design stage, especially in the superyacht sector. Assertions that a vessel has “no enclosed spaces” are simply inaccurate and reveal a significant oversight in regulatory design safety management.

CHIRP urges vessel operators and regulators to ensure all enclosed spaces are appropriately identified, marked, and documented, with gas detection equipment readily available and crews trained in its correct use. Ignoring this issue puts lives at risk, and action must be taken to close this safety gap.

CHIRP and other maritime organisations are working to establish an internationally recognised enclosed space sign. This initiative aims to ensure that all seafarers, regardless of the vessel they serve on, can quickly identify these hazardous areas. Standardised signage will help remove ambiguity and reinforce safe working practices across the maritime industry.

Factors relating to this report
Communications: The company must communicate to their fleet that learning within the company will only improve if management addresses concerns from the crew or other management and adopts a bottom-up, top-down approach to safety.

Culture: The poor response by management to the use of gas-measuring equipment indicates a poor safety culture within the company to crew safety.

Alerting: Alerting management of the lack of equipment to monitor an enclosed space was poorly received.

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