To: Owners and Ship Managers of Vessels under Date of issue: 2022/11/18

NBP Operation
Ref. No.: NBPMAR2022033
Issued by: Marine Group, NYK Bulk & Projects Revision date:

Subject: Water Leakage in Hold

In response to an incident that recently occurred on vessels in our fleet, you are requested to
review the below summaries and comments to avoid a similar incident in the future.

Summary 1
On a vessel at a discharging port, the chief officer started ballasting operations once
discharging operations commenced. During sounding work by the crew, an irregular
condition was discovered when sounding No. 1 WBT(S).

The crew immediately reported to the chief officer and carried out an inspection of adjacent
holds and spaces. During the inspection, the chief officer discovered some ballast water
ingress on the tank top of No. 2 LH(Fore). The water had come from the air-vent pipe joint in
the No. 2 hold. There were some cargoes in the hold, but fortunatelly there was no wet
damage to the cargoes.
Summary 2
During navigation, a crew member discovered water leaking from the portside hull in the
void space. This leak was below the sea surface (around 1.3m below sea surface) and caused
by heavy corrosion, so the worst-case scenario was the possibility of the vessel sinking.
Fortunately, the water leakage was small, and the vessel’s seaworthiness was maintained.
After temporary repair, the vessel continued to navigate to a convenient port for repair. The
damage occurred in a void space, so cargo was not damaged. However, repairs took three
days and resulted in a delay.

Comment
Wet damage can have a critical impact on our business. We would therefore like to ensure
the implementation of the following actions to prevent this type of accident:

- Before starting the voyage, properly conduct an overflow test in accordance with instructions
from operators.
- If you notice some rusty water stains on the bulkhead, sidewall, or pipes in the hold, etc.,
check the condition around the area to ensure no leakage.
- Keep watch of cargo operation to avoid hitting the vessel structure with cargo operation
materials, forklifts, and cargoes.
- Regularly check hold conditions and make a maintenance schedule for inside the cargo hold
and related pipes.

Yours faithfully,

Marine Group
NBP