Coconut oil can be poisonous
SHIPPING: Coconut oil is not normally known for being a dangerous product to carry but an article from Intertanko on two accidents, one with a fatality, have led to a rethink at ship-owners M.H. Simonsen in Svendborg, reports the company's vetting manager/ deputy DPA, Karen Kruse.
She would like to draw attention to a possibly overseen risk in carrying coconut oil that it can lead to generation of a poisonous gas, carbon monoxide (CO).
"Normally we do not recommend any special precautions for sailing with these products. But some kinds of crude coconut oil can develop CO. Since some of our vessels regularly carry coconut oils, this year we therefore circulated the Intertanko article as company "Information Sharing" to all vessels in the fleet to notify our crews of a real risk that they should be aware of", says Karen Kruse.
Not all coconut oil products release carbon monoxide which is colourless, cannot be smelt and is poisonous when inhaled in large quantities. If you do not know what the proper shipping name is, there can be the risk of not running tests on the tanks and that can have fatal consequences.
Karen Kruse is not convinced that the proper shipping name is always given in the data lists for cargo and there is also the risk of poor communication between the captain who is responsible for having the correct data and the deck officer in charge of the ratings who actually have to deal with the cargo.
M.H. Simonsen have introduced a procedure in the ISM Code to draw attention to the risk and the fact that it is essential to have the right test gear aboard to protect crew when carrying vegetable oils.
"The most important thing is for our skilled seamen to be made aware of the real danger so they can always protect themselves by getting the official data on the product. When in doubt, they should contact the company", Kruse urges.
Source: seahealth.dk
