IMCA highlights a potential gap in safety awareness which may be of interest to operators. In one vessel, there has been noted a CO2 flooding system activation point within the main CO2 bottle room, however, there were no warnings or procedural guidance on the use of Breathing Apparatus (BA) within the main CO2 bottle room when operating the system.
Lesson learned
– When activating flooding systems there is a chance that CO2 may leak into the space itself, either directly from the cylinders and/or associated piping. As such, the space may quickly fill with CO2, presenting a hazardous atmosphere to persons inside;
-Therefore, after seeking guidance from the maritime fire-fighting school, our member recommended the use of BA whenever;
- entering the CO2 cylinder space after activating the system from a remote point
- when activation of the CO2 system is required from within the CO2 cylinder space itself, or
- whenever undertaking drills within the CO2 cylinder space;
-Steps were taken to review relevant vessel specific procedures and, where required, update them to include guidance on the use of BA equipment in CO2 cylinder rooms/spaces.