Hidden Changes Cause Severe Burns on Tanker ‘Wisdom Venture’ – ATSB.

Danger in the Engine Room: Hidden Changes and Severe Steam Burns. Crew injuries during maintenance involving oil tanker, Wisdom Venture About 60 km east of Sydney, New South Wales – ATSB Marine Occurrence Investigation (Defined) MO-2025-004

What Happened: On May 6, 2025, the oil tanker Wisdom Venture was drifting off the coast of Sydney. The engineering team was fixing a leaking steam valve on the cargo heating system. After shutting off the system, the crew took off the valve cover. Without warning, trapped hot water and steam blasted out, burning three crew members. The injured sailors were given immediate first aid and quickly evacuated to a hospital on shore.

Investigators found two main problems. First, the crew did not let the steam system cool down enough before starting work. They also skipped steps to double-check that the pressure was fully gone, likely because they were in a hurry to restore fuel heating.

Second, a hidden danger caused the system shut-off to fail. Someone had previously changed a drain line without approval or paperwork. Because this modification was never recorded, the current engineers had no idea it existed. This undocumented change bypassed the ship’s safety rules and left the incoming crew completely unaware of the deadly risk.

Immediate Operational Checks: As a fellow mariner, I know the operational pressure you face daily, but safety cannot be rushed. Please use these checks as a safety training brief with your engineering team today:

• Walk the engine room and physically trace your steam lines. Verify that the actual piping matches your official ship drawings exactly. No added bypasses should be allowed.
• Look closely for any unofficial “quick fixes” or piping changes, especially on bypass and drain lines.
• Any modifications or updates to pipework must be officially documented, if legitimate. Class approved drawings may be required.
• Review recent handover notes. If you find any unrecorded changes to machinery, flag them to the Chief Engineer or Master immediately.
• Update your permit-to-work checklists to strictly enforce mandatory cooling times for hot fluid systems.

Lessons Learned:

• Respect cooling times: Always wait for high-temperature fluid and steam systems to cool down completely before opening them. Ensure everybody knows the expected duration.
• Verify zero pressure: Never rely solely on a pressure gauge. Always use drain valves and visual checks to prove a line is completely empty and depressurized.
• Follow Management of Change (MoC) rules: Every change to a ship’s fixed systems, no matter how small, requires an official risk assessment and approval before work begins.
• Improve handovers: Senior engineers must clearly explain all known issues, system quirks, and temporary fixes to the incoming crew.

Tags: Marine Safety, Steam Systems, Management of Change, Hazard Identification, Engine Room

Official Report: ATSB Marine Occurrence Investigation MO-2025-004