OSHA 30 Maritime cheat sheet

OSHA operates under the OSH Act of 1970; the General Duty Clause (Section 5(a)(1)) requires employers to furnish a workplace free of recognized hazards likely to cause death or serious physical harm.

Maritime enforcement is split: 29 CFR 1915 covers shipyard employment, 29 CFR 1917 covers marine terminals, and 29 CFR 1918 covers longshoring.

29 CFR 1910 and 1915 apply to uninspected vessels and to work aboard vessels in shipyards; 29 CFR 1926 governs construction work at waterfront sites.

OSHA jurisdiction generally ends where another federal agency's authority governs; Coast Guard-regulated vessel operation and crew conditions fall outside OSHA, but shipyard and terminal work does not.

Section 5(a)(2) requires compliance with specific OSHA standards; the General Duty Clause applies only when no specific standard covers the hazard.

The OSH Act covers private-sector employers and their employees; federal agency workers are covered under Section 19 and state and local workers fall under states with approved plans.

OSHA penalties are adjusted annually for inflation; willful and repeated violations carry per-violation maximums far above serious-violation amounts, and failure-to-abate penalties accrue daily.

State plans approved by OSHA must be at least as effective as federal OSHA; in plan states the state agency, not federal OSHA, enforces maritime rules.

Vessel owners and terminal operators may be cited as employers when they direct and control the work of the employees exposed to the hazard.

Fall protection: 29 CFR 1915 Subpart M requires guardrails, safety nets, or personal fall arrest for work surfaces 5 feet or more above a lower level in shipyards; the general industry trigger is 4 feet.

Confined spaces under 1915 Subpart B: test atmosphere before entry, classify as permit-required if it contains a hazardous atmosphere, engulfment potential, or converging walls; a shipyard competent person must test and log results.

Ladders and scaffolds: fixed ladders over 20 feet need fall protection or cages/ladder safety systems; scaffold platforms in shipyards require guardrails on open sides above 5 feet.

Rigging and gear: slings and loose gear must be inspected before each use and at intervals not exceeding 12 months by a qualified person; defective gear is removed from service and tagged.

Cranes and derricks near water: capacity must account for list, trim, and dynamic loads; no hoisting over personnel, and outrigger/counterweight clearances must be verified before lifts.

Hazardous energy: lockout/tagout under 1915 Subpart H applies to shipyard machinery; stored energy in hydraulic systems, capacitors, and suspended loads must be relieved or blocked.

Hazard communication: SDSs must be accessible for every hazardous chemical on site, and labels must be updated; shipyard painting and coating operations also trigger ventilation and respiratory protection requirements.

Walking-working surfaces: oil, ice, and water on decks and gangways are common slip hazards; housekeeping, drainage, and non-slip surfaces are the primary abatement.

Welding and cutting in shipyards requires fire watch, ventilation for fumes and gases, and hot-work permits when conducted near combustible materials or in confined spaces.

Workers may request an OSHA inspection, participate in the walkaround, and speak privately with the compliance officer; employers may not retaliate for protected activity under Section 11(c).

Retaliation complaints under Section 11(c) must generally be filed within 30 days of the adverse action; whistleblower statutes administered by OSHA have varying, often shorter, deadlines.

Employers must record work-related fatalities within 8 hours and in-patient hospitalizations, amputations, or eye losses within 24 hours.

OSHA 300 and 301 logs must be maintained for establishments in partially exempt or non-exempt industries; the 300A summary is posted February 1 through April 30.

Employers must provide PPE at no cost to employees, train workers in a language and vocabulary they understand, and keep training records where a standard requires them.

Employees have the right to refuse to perform work when they reasonably believe it poses imminent death or serious injury and there is no time to eliminate the hazard through normal channels.

Employers must report and keep records of fatalities, injuries, and illnesses, and must not discriminate against workers who exercise rights under the Act.

Workers have the right to see their exposure and medical records under 29 CFR 1910.1020 and to receive copies of injury and illness records upon request.

Complaints can be filed online at OSHA's website, by mail or fax on the OSHA-7 form, by telephone, or in person at the nearest OSHA area office.

A signed complaint alleging a hazard that threatens physical harm may trigger an on-site inspection; unsigned or non-formal complaints generally result in a letter to the employer.

Complainants may request that their name be withheld from the employer, but OSHA cannot withhold identity in every case and cannot act on anonymous allegations alone without corroboration.

Filing deadlines: safety and health complaints have no fixed federal deadline, but retaliation complaints under Section 11(c) must be filed within 30 days.

The complaint should identify the employer, the worksite address, the specific hazard, and how workers are exposed; generic allegations are less likely to result in an inspection.

Employees covered by a state plan file with the state agency, not federal OSHA; the state plan's procedures must be at least as effective as federal procedures.

OSHA does not require employees to notify the employer before filing, and the employer must not retaliate against a worker for filing or cooperating.

After an inspection, the employer may contest citations within 15 working days of receipt; employees may also contest the abatement period.