Monoxide in a boat: three tips that can save your life
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In the past ten years, the MAIB, Marine Accident Investigation Branch, has investigated six accidents involving carbon monoxide poisoning that claimed the lives of 10 people. Most of these incidents occurred aboard recreational boats. In addition to the need to improve awareness of the symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning, the surveys conducted reveal three common safety lessons worth noting. So here are MAIB’s three tips for preventing these dangerous and unnecessary accidents.
Install a carbon monoxide alarm and make sure it works
It sounds trivial, but it is so. All it takes is one alarm to already be much calmer. Because of the odorless and colorless nature of carbon monoxide, installing a detector remains the only effective warning of the possible presence of the poisonous gas. In all cases investigated, boat occupants were not warned of the presence of carbon monoxide either because there was no carbon monoxide alarm or because the one installed did not work
Properly install and maintain on-board equipment
The tragic incident aboard a boat that MAIB investigated raises the importance of ensuring that equipment or boat modifications are undertaken in accordance with manufacturer’s guidelines. All safety-critical work on boats should be undertaken by a competent marine engineer using the correct materials, and all installations and modifications should be fit for purpose. Even a gas stove, if not burning efficiently, can generate enough carbon monoxide to kill. Eshcol was a small commercial fishing boat, and two crew members lost their lives on board when they left the gas grill on overnight to heat the cabin.
Regular maintenance of motors
A MAIB investigation of carbon monoxide poisoning on a motorboat highlighted the importance of regular maintenance of a boat’s engine to ensure that it remains reliable and safe to use. The investigation found that the engine aboard the Vasquez had not been regularly serviced and there was evidence that the engine exhaust system had been modified during the life of the boat. This is to reiterate how proper and regular maintenance is essential for safe navigation.
In conclusion
Ultimately, the only way boat owners can take potentially life-saving actions when exposed to carbon monoxide is to be alerted to the presence of this poisonous gas. Carbon monoxide alarms are readily available, inexpensive, and simple to install.
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