ZODIAC MARITIME AGENCIES LTD.

CHEMICAL OPERATIONS MANUAL

Manual
Issue
Date
Approved
: COM
: 003
: 03.10.00
: MJR
CONTENTS
1
1 - GENERAL SAFETY PRECAUTIONS 2
1.01 SMOKING 2
1.02 NAKED LIGHTS 2
1.03 ACCIDENTS 2
1.04 TORCHES (FLASHLIGHTS), LAMPS AND PORTABLE BATTERY POERED E!UIPMENT 3
1.0" FI#ED ELECTRICAL E!UIPMENT 3
1.0$ USE OF TOOLS%GRIT BLASTING 3
1.0& HAND TOOLS 4
1.0' ALUMINIUM 4
1.0( SPONTANEOUS COMBUSTION 4
1.10 CARGO MANIFOLD DRIP TRAYS 5
1.11 STATIC ELECTRICITY 5
1.12 HOT ORK 6
page 1 o 5
!var!"""!apps!#onvers$on!t%p!s#rat#&'4!24(4243)4.do#
ZODIAC MARITIME AGENCIES LTD.
CHEMICAL OPERATIONS MANUAL
Manual
Issue
Date
Approved
: COM
: 003
: 03.10.00
: MJR
CHAPTER 1 - GENERAL SAFETY PRECAUTIONS
Personnel joining a chemical tanker, for the first time, should receive a basic safety induction to the
vessel, with due attention paid to the particular hazards on board. The chief officer and safety officer
should conduct the basic familiarisation lecture.
For those persons joining a chemical tanker
Training in emergency procedures and in the use of special equipment should be given, as
appropriate to members of the crew at appropriate intervals. The instruction should include personal
first aid measures for dealing with accidental contact with hazardous products and the danger of
inhalation of cargo fumes. !ee also hazard data sheets".
1.01 SMOKING
!moking should be prohibited on board, with the e#ception of places designated by the
master whilst at sea and those agreed by the master$chief officer and the terminal
representative, during the vessel%s key meeting prior to the commencement of cargo
operations. &hen the ship is tank cleaning, the master should enforce smoking prohibitions
as he feels fit. These would normally e#pected to be.
' smoking room in port should satisfy the following criteria
't least two )*+,-. doors between the room and the outside.
' fire e#tinguisher immediately to hand.
'shtrays should be of the (safety type).
1.02 NAKED LIGHTS
*aked lights are prohibited on the tank deck and any other place where there is risk of
dangerous gases being present.
+onspicuous warning notices must be displayed at the access point to the vessel and on
accommodation doors e#it doors prohibiting smoking and the use of naked lights.
1.03 ACCIDENTS
,t appears to be a fact, that most accidents on board chemical tankers have, in the past
happened to chief officers, who should have known better. ,nvestigation into these accidents
would appear to suggest that they have succumbed to (complacency). !imilarly accidents
have happened when decisions have been made in the name of (time), ie rushing. +hemical
tankers are inherently dangerous and all operations must be pre-planned in accordance with
company policy. *.T/,*0 ,! T/'T 1203*T .2 ,4P.2T'*T T/'T ,T +'* *.T 53
6.*3 !'F378
1.04 TORCHES (FLASHLIGHTS), LAMPS AND PORTABLE BATTERY POERED E!UIPMENT
.nly torches that have been approved by a competent authority for use in flammable
atmospheres shall be used aboard. 'll torches must be kept in good order and any necessary
repairs are only to be carried out by competent persons.
9/F walkie talkies must be of an Portable radios, tape decks, electronic calculators, cameras
and flash equipment are not permitted on the tank deck or any other location where
flammable gas may be encountered.
1.0" FI#ED ELECTRICAL E!UIPMENT
Fi#ed electrical equipment in dangerous areas, and even in locations where a flammable
atmosphere is to be e#pected infrequently, must be of an approved type and be properly
page 2 o 5
!var!"""!apps!#onvers$on!t%p!s#rat#&'4!24(4243)4.do#
ZODIAC MARITIME AGENCIES LTD.
CHEMICAL OPERATIONS MANUAL
Manual
Issue
Date
Approved
: COM
: 003
: 03.10.00
: MJR
maintained so as to ensure that neither the equipment nor the wiring becomes a source of
ignition.
1.0$ USE OF TOOLS%BLASTING
G/01 B*2,1034 23. M-)5230)2**6 P+7-/-. T++*,
0rit blasting and the use of mechanically powered tools are not normally considered as
coming within the definition of hot work. /owever, both these operations should only be
permitted under the following conditions and should only be commenced following the
completion of a Cold Work Permit (form VT114):
The work area should not be subject to vapour release, or a concentration of
combustible vapours, and should be free of combustible material.
The area should be gas-free, and tests with a combustible gas indicator should
give a reading of not more than ; < 7F7 and reading s recorded on the =+old
&ork Permit%..
The ship must not be alongside at a terminal.
There must be no cargo, bunkering, ballasting, tank cleaning, gas-freeing,
purging or inerting operations in progress.
'dequate fire-fighting equipment must be laid out, and ready for immediate use. The fire
main is to be pressurised and anchor washes on.
The hopper and hose nozzle of a grit blasting machine should be electrically bonded and
earthed to the deck or fitting being worked on.
For additional information on the use of tools, ,!0.T should be referred to, +hapter >.?.
1.0& HAND TOOLS
/and tools should be used only for the purpose for which they are designed. The risk of
ignition of petroleum gas by frictional sparks produced by metal to metal impact in correct
and normal use is slight, but care must be taken to prevent incorrect use.
ISGOTT STATES8- @Non-ferrous so called non-sparking tools are only marginally less likely to
give rise to an incendive spark and !ecause of t"eir comparative softness are not as
efficient as t"eir ferrous e#uivalents$ Particles of concrete sand or ot"er "ard rock-like
su!stances are likely to !ecome em!edded in t"e %orking face or edge of suc" tools and can
t"en cause incendive sparks on impact %it" ferrous or ot"er "ard metals$ T"e use of non-
ferrous tools is t"erefore not recommended.@
page 3 o 5
!var!"""!apps!#onvers$on!t%p!s#rat#&'4!24(4243)4.do#
ZODIAC MARITIME AGENCIES LTD.
CHEMICAL OPERATIONS MANUAL
Manual
Issue
Date
Approved
: COM
: 003
: 03.10.00
: MJR
IT IS THEREFORE IMPORTANT HEN PLANNING 9HOT ORK9 (HICH INCLUDES
HAMMERING, CHIPPING, SCRAPING ETC.), TO ENSURE THE RESPECTI:E AREA IS
GAS FREE AND COMPLETELY SAFE. POCKETS OF GAS CAN E#IST IN PARTS OF A
TANK OR ITHIN A PIPE LINE. REGULAR CHECKS MUST BE MADE. GAS MAY ALSO
E:OL:E FROM DISTURBED SLUDGE OR AS AIR TEMPERATURES INCREASE.
CONSTANT MONITORING AND :IGILANCE IS RE!UIRED.
1.0' ALUMINIUM
'luminium equipment should not be dragged or rubbed across steel since it may leave a
smear which, if it is on rusty steel and is subsequently struck, can cause an incendive spark.
For this reason, the undersides of aluminium gangways and other heavy portable aluminium
structures are normally protected with hard plastic or wooden strips. These must be regularly
inspected and maintained as necessary. ,f there is no protective guard, then alternative
precautions shall be taken.
1.0( SPONTANEOUS COMBUSTION
!ome materials when damp or soaked with oil, especially oil of vegetable origin, are liable to
ignite without the e#ternal application of heat as the result of gradual heating within the
material produced by o#idation. The risk of spontaneous combustion is smaller with
petroleum oils than with vegetable oils, but it can still occur, particularly if the material is kept
warm, for e#ample by pro#imity to a hot pipe.
+otton waste, rags, canvas, bedding, jute sacking or any similar absorbent material should
therefore not be stowed near oil, paint, etc. and should not be left lying on the jetty, on decks,
on equipment, on or around pipelines etc. ,f such materials become damp, they should be
dried before being stowed away. ,f soaked with oil they should be cleaned or destroyed.
+ertain chemicals used for boiler treatment are also o#idising agents and though carried in
diluted form are capable of spontaneous combustion if permitted to evaporate.
1.10 CARGO MANIFOLD DRIP TRAYS
These should be regularly cleaned and dried after each cargo operation to remove any spillage
which may be incompatible with another product spilled later.
1.11 STATIC ELECTRICITY
!tatic electricity presents fire and e#plosion hazards during the handling of petroleum and
liquid cargoes. +lean oils are in general, accumulators of static electricity because of their
low conductivity. !tatic accumulator oils include :
*atural 0asolines, *apthas Aerosenes /eating oils
&hite spirits /eavy gas oils 4otor and aviation gasoline
+lean diesel oils Bet fuels 7ubricating oils.
,f in any doubt as to whether a particular cargo is a static accumulator or not it should be
treated as such a product and the precautions described followed.
!ee table C.; in ,!0.T for details of precautions required when using portable measuring,
gauging or sampling equipment.
+ertain operations can give rise to accumulations of electric charges which may be released
suddenly in electrostatic discharges with sufficient energy to ignite flammable gas $ air
mi#tures. !uch operations include gauging and sampling during cargo operations and further
information in this regard is contained within +hapter D of this manual.
page 4 o 5
!var!"""!apps!#onvers$on!t%p!s#rat#&'4!24(4243)4.do#
ZODIAC MARITIME AGENCIES LTD.
CHEMICAL OPERATIONS MANUAL
Manual
Issue
Date
Approved
: COM
: 003
: 03.10.00
: MJR
8ou should refer to chapter >E of the ,nternational !afety 0uide for Tankers F Terminals
,!0.TT" which provides details on the three basic stages leading up to a potential static
hazard : charge separationG charge accumulation and electrostatic discharge.
+hapter C of ,!0.TT should also be considered which provides specific guidance on the
handling of static accumulator cargoes and details of the precautions to be taken.
1.12 HOT ORK
H+1 +/; as defined by ,!0.TT is =any %ork involving %elding or !urning and any ot"er
%ork including certain drilling and grinding operations electrical %ork and t"e use of non-
intrinsically safe electrical e#uipment %"ic" mig"t produce an incendive spark$%

G-3-/2*

;. The company%s /ot &ork Permit form 9T ;E?" is to be used for all /ot &ork.
>. /ot &ork ,ncludes H welding, burning or other work including certain drilling and
grinding operations, electrical work and the use of non intrinsically safe electrical
equipment, which might produce a spark.
I. /ot &ork is only permitted in accordance with the national, international and terminal $
port requirements.
J. /ot work is prohibited during cargo, ballast, tank cleaning, gas freeing, purging or
inerting operations and on deck when the vessel is not gas free ,!0.TT >.K.D"
D. 'll /ot &ork is to be planned. The 4aster is to consider the work to be carried out and
decide if it is justified, safe and the precautions required. 5efore the /ot &ork
commences the 4aster will hold a safety meeting to ;" discuss the planned work >"
consider all risks I" consider all precautions J" identify duties and responsibilities.
L. The Fleet Technical 4anager is to be advised of all hot work planned for outside the
engine room workshop and given details of all relevant circumstances and precautions.
The /ot &ork must not commence until the Fleet Technical 4anager has approved (the
plan).
C. /ot &ork Permits will not be valid for more than >J hours.
K. /ot &ork is to be stopped should there be any changes in circumstances.
?. 1pon completion of /ot &ork the 4aster will report to the Fleet Technical 4anager.
;E. 2ecords of /ot &ork Permits, safety meetings and e#changes with the office are to be
kept on board for ; year.

For additional information and instructions on /ot work the company%s !afety 4anual should be
referred to.
page 5 o 5
!var!"""!apps!#onvers$on!t%p!s#rat#&'4!24(4243)4.do#