Alcohol poisoning has been cited for the death of one crewmen and illness of another five men onboard the Boskalis operated heavylift ship Boka Vanguard earlier this week.
earlier this week.The incident happened when the ship was sailing near Durban, South Africa, carrying Petrobras’ newbuild FPSO P-70 from a Chinese shipyard to Brazil. The ship requested emergency assistance from South Africa’s Marine Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC), stating five Brazilian personnel onboard the ship were ill and another one had died.
MRCC coordinated two helicopters and rescue boat Alick Rennie for the rescue operation. The paramedics provided care for the five sick crew onboard the ship before they were transferred to a local hospital by helicopter for further treatment. All of them are now in stable condition. The body of the deceased remained onboard at the master’s request.
Boskalis laster confirmed that the six crew, who were hired for preservation works onboard of the FPSO, were intoxicated by the illegal consumption of a cleaning liquid. According to Boskalis, the liquid is a substance customarily used for degreasing purposes, presumably containing a mixture of ethanol and the severely toxic methanol.
The company has stressed that it has a strict zero tolerance policy with regard to alcohol on its offshore vessels.
Boka Vanguard later continued its voyage to Santos Basin off the coast of Sao Paulo.
The P-70 FPSO was completed by the COOEC shipyard in Qingdao and is expected to commence operations early this year.
Apparently, the personnel involved in the incident were all Brazilian crew of the cargo (FPSO) riding on the Boka Vanguard as supernumeraries and they got sick by ingesting a cleaning solution.
Fyi Boskalis (ex Dockwise) prohibits alcohol consumption on their vessels.