Hot work performed outside of Permit to Work (PTW) boundary limit

Description of Incident

A near miss occurred when a third-party contractor working onboard a vessel removed a trip hazard (a metal stump section) from the vessel main deck, using a cutting torch and grinding disc. Whilst cutting the 10cm diameter stump, sparks and slag (hot work discharge) dropped into the hole in the deck and fell to a thruster room directly below, onto scaffolding boards and onto a 600V HV electrical cable. There were some burn and scuff marks caused. Vessel engine room crew in the affected area noticed the falling sparks from above, and further identified that there was no fire watcher available in the vicinity. The job was stopped immediately.

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