Subscribe to our Mailing Lists (It's free!)
Saturday, February 4, 2023
SAFETY4SEA
  • Home
  • Safety
    • All
    • Accidents
    • Alerts
    • Loss Prevention
    • Maritime Health
    • Regulation
    • Safety
    • Seafarers
    • Security
    fire cruise ship sydney

    Fire onboard cruise ship in Sydney harbour

    barge sinks goa india

    Barge sinks at at anchorage in Goa, India

    uscg towing vessels

    USCG: Cancelation of Certificate of Inspection Phase-In Period policy letter

    fishing vessels safety

    Recommendations for USCG to improve fishing vessels safety

  • SEAFiT
    • All
    • Intellectual
    • Mental
    • Physical
    • Social
    • Spiritual
    How are you making decisions? The 6 human needs

    How are you making decisions? The 6 human needs

    how to fall asleep

    6 tips to help you fall asleep when you wake up at night

    psychotherapy

    Working in business? How psychotherapy can be a life-changing experience

    sexual health

    Sexual health important to overall wellbeing: Key considerations

  • Green
    • All
    • Arctic
    • Ballast
    • Emissions
    • Fuels
    • Green Shipping
    • Pollution
    • Ship Recycling
    • Technology
    gtt onboard co2 carbon capture

    GTT receives €4.66M for onboard CO2 capture system

    Hydrogen Carrier Powering Fuels Cells

    EU funds project using green hydrogen from liquid organic hydrogen carriers

    offshore wind carbon trust

    Offshore wind developers partner with Carbon Trust to decarbonize industry

    equinor engie hydrogen

    Equinor, Engie move forward with hydrogen project in Belgium

  • Smart
    • All
    • Connectivity
    • Cyber Security
    • E-navigation
    • Energy Efficiency
    • Maritime Software
    • Smart
    maersk ashdod port

    Maersk, Ashdod Port Company partner to drive logistics and supply chain innovation

    klaveness autonomous hull cleaning

    Klaveness: Roll-out of semi-autonomous hull cleaning solution

    mol Vessel Cyber Resilience

    MOL: World’s first company to receive AiP for vessel cyber resilience

    ukho paper chart

    UKHO: Paper chart withdrawal extended beyond 2026

  • Risk
    • All
    • CIC
    • Detentions
    • Fines
    • PSC Focus
    • Vetting
    philippines 18 detained fuel theft

    Philippines: 18 from 3 ships detained for fuel theft

    black sea mou cic stcw

    Black Sea MoU: Preliminary results of CIC on STCW

    Keppel Offshore fines

    Keppel Offshore & Marine pays $65m in fines after corruption case

    fmc delay and disruption claims

    FMC: Increase in “Delay and Disruption” claims

  • Others
    • All
    • Diversity in shipping
    • Maritime Knowledge
    • Offshore
    • Ports
    • Reports
    • Shipping
    • Sustainability
    • Videos
    world cancer day

    World Cancer Day 2023: Time to close the care gap

    rotterdam shortsea terminals

    Watch: Rotterdam Short Sea Terminals aspires to be the best shortsea terminal in Europe

    panama canal draft adjustment

    Panama Canal: Draft adjustment for Neopanamax locks

    whales fatalities offshore wind

    NOIA: No connection between whale deaths and offshore wind

  • Columns
    Maritime Just Transition Task Force: Engaging industry in social dialogue

    Maritime Just Transition Task Force: Engaging industry in social dialogue

    Career Paths: David Tournay, Maritime Skills Alliance

    Career Paths: Sinikka Hartonen, One Sea Association

    Career Paths: David Tournay, Maritime Skills Alliance

    Career Paths: David Tournay, Maritime Skills Alliance

    Trending Tags

    • Career Paths
    • Industry Voices
    • Maripedia
    • Maritime History
    • Resilience
    • Seafarers Stories
    • SeaSense
  • Events
  • Plus
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Safety
    • All
    • Accidents
    • Alerts
    • Loss Prevention
    • Maritime Health
    • Regulation
    • Safety
    • Seafarers
    • Security
    fire cruise ship sydney

    Fire onboard cruise ship in Sydney harbour

    barge sinks goa india

    Barge sinks at at anchorage in Goa, India

    uscg towing vessels

    USCG: Cancelation of Certificate of Inspection Phase-In Period policy letter

    fishing vessels safety

    Recommendations for USCG to improve fishing vessels safety

  • SEAFiT
    • All
    • Intellectual
    • Mental
    • Physical
    • Social
    • Spiritual
    How are you making decisions? The 6 human needs

    How are you making decisions? The 6 human needs

    how to fall asleep

    6 tips to help you fall asleep when you wake up at night

    psychotherapy

    Working in business? How psychotherapy can be a life-changing experience

    sexual health

    Sexual health important to overall wellbeing: Key considerations

  • Green
    • All
    • Arctic
    • Ballast
    • Emissions
    • Fuels
    • Green Shipping
    • Pollution
    • Ship Recycling
    • Technology
    gtt onboard co2 carbon capture

    GTT receives €4.66M for onboard CO2 capture system

    Hydrogen Carrier Powering Fuels Cells

    EU funds project using green hydrogen from liquid organic hydrogen carriers

    offshore wind carbon trust

    Offshore wind developers partner with Carbon Trust to decarbonize industry

    equinor engie hydrogen

    Equinor, Engie move forward with hydrogen project in Belgium

  • Smart
    • All
    • Connectivity
    • Cyber Security
    • E-navigation
    • Energy Efficiency
    • Maritime Software
    • Smart
    maersk ashdod port

    Maersk, Ashdod Port Company partner to drive logistics and supply chain innovation

    klaveness autonomous hull cleaning

    Klaveness: Roll-out of semi-autonomous hull cleaning solution

    mol Vessel Cyber Resilience

    MOL: World’s first company to receive AiP for vessel cyber resilience

    ukho paper chart

    UKHO: Paper chart withdrawal extended beyond 2026

  • Risk
    • All
    • CIC
    • Detentions
    • Fines
    • PSC Focus
    • Vetting
    philippines 18 detained fuel theft

    Philippines: 18 from 3 ships detained for fuel theft

    black sea mou cic stcw

    Black Sea MoU: Preliminary results of CIC on STCW

    Keppel Offshore fines

    Keppel Offshore & Marine pays $65m in fines after corruption case

    fmc delay and disruption claims

    FMC: Increase in “Delay and Disruption” claims

  • Others
    • All
    • Diversity in shipping
    • Maritime Knowledge
    • Offshore
    • Ports
    • Reports
    • Shipping
    • Sustainability
    • Videos
    world cancer day

    World Cancer Day 2023: Time to close the care gap

    rotterdam shortsea terminals

    Watch: Rotterdam Short Sea Terminals aspires to be the best shortsea terminal in Europe

    panama canal draft adjustment

    Panama Canal: Draft adjustment for Neopanamax locks

    whales fatalities offshore wind

    NOIA: No connection between whale deaths and offshore wind

  • Columns
    Maritime Just Transition Task Force: Engaging industry in social dialogue

    Maritime Just Transition Task Force: Engaging industry in social dialogue

    Career Paths: David Tournay, Maritime Skills Alliance

    Career Paths: Sinikka Hartonen, One Sea Association

    Career Paths: David Tournay, Maritime Skills Alliance

    Career Paths: David Tournay, Maritime Skills Alliance

    Trending Tags

    • Career Paths
    • Industry Voices
    • Maripedia
    • Maritime History
    • Resilience
    • Seafarers Stories
    • SeaSense
  • Events
  • Plus
No Result
View All Result
SAFETY4SEA

Lessons Learned from fuel oil leakage accident onboard

by The Editorial Team
October 25, 2022
in Loss Prevention, Maritime Knowledge
hong kong lessons learned

Credit: Shutterstock

FacebookTwitterEmailLinkedin

CHIRP Maritime has received several near miss reports relating to fuel oil leakage and the following examples demonstrate the high risk of a fire due to human errors.

Fuel oil leaks from high pressure pipes carry a risk of fire in the engine room. Most of the incidents reported to CHIPR were caused by human errors, such as overconfidence and carelessness. CHIRP refers the following examples to highlight lessons learned.

Case 1

While the vessel was underway, a slight fuel oil leak was observed at the connection between No.6 cylinder fuel oil pump of the main engine and its high pressure pipe. Immediately, the vessel stopped her main engine and replaced the high pressure pipe. Upon investigation, it was found that the coupling nut had become loose. The cause of this incident was inappropriate torque management of the coupling nut.

RelatedNews

World Cancer Day 2023: Time to close the care gap

Recommendations for USCG to improve fishing vessels safety

Case 2

Whilst underway, the crew discovered a fuel oil leak between No.8 unit fuel oil high pressure pipe connection of the main engine and the injection control unit. The vessel stopped her main engine and replaced the fuel oil high pressure pipe. On further investigation, the sealing surface of the removed fuel oil high pressure pipe showed slight press marks.

To help eradicate fuel oil leaks from the main engine fuel oil high pressure pipes, the following key actions for fitting and unfitting the fuel oil high pressure pipes should be followed:

  • Close Inspection: seating surface/screw parts of the pipe at both ends and their mating parts should be inspected and cleaned carefully. For close inspection, the fuel oil high pressure pipe should be removed completely when it is dismantled for maintenance, such as during fuel valve replacement, etc.
  • Proper reconditioning: if any damage to the seat surface is observed, the relevant seat surface is to be ground by the special tool on board. Also, the lapping special tool must NOT be deformed or damaged.
  • Proper tightening: the fuel oil high pressure pipe should be tightened to the proper torque in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions.

During daily inspection, the 3rd engineer noticed that fuel oil was present inside the Purifier Room, the source being from the fuel oil heater of No 1 auxiliary boiler. The engineer isolated the heater, drained the piping of No 1 boiler, and put No.2 auxiliary boiler fuel oil heater into service.

Investigating the cause of the defect, it was found that the leakage occurred due to the poor condition of a gasket, which was replaced with a spare. The damaged gasket was found to be of the ordinary type and not the spiral high temperature gasket which is used for high temperature piping systems. The investigation also noted that the last visual inspection of the system was conducted the evening before, in accordance with the UMS check list, and no problems were identified. Following the incident, a thorough inspection of the piping system was carried out. No defects or leaks were identified and the piping was found in good condition. It was concluded that inadequate inventory management of the vessel’s spare parts was a potential factor, and there was improper planning during the fitting of the original gasket.

Lessons Learned

  • Machinery spaces, and especially purifier rooms, are very fire-prone areas. Therefore, it is essential that these spaces are inspected carefully during all daily and UMS inspections.
  • Maintenance of critical systems such as the fuel system should be properly planned and executed, ensuring that the spare parts used are fit for purpose.
  • Effective inventory management, proper tagging and control of spare parts onboard and proper checking of the condition and suitability of spare parts prior to use are essential safety issues.
  • Fuel oil high pressure piping systems should be fitted with spare parts/consumables appropriate for the high temperatures involved.

Having discussed the reports, the Maritime Advisory Board agreed that fuel oil systems are high risk, and that particular attention should be paid during maintenance. The correct identification of gaskets is essential for high pressure/temperature systems. The Board also stressed the need for careful oversight during maintenance or repairs. When a defect regarding an incorrect type of gasket/joint being fitted has been identified at one location in the high temperature pipework, it would be a good risk control measure to open up the remaining similar joints in the pipework, to ensure that correct spiral-wound gaskets/joints have been fitted.

The 1998 HMAS Westralia fire with subsequent fatalities caused by fuel leakage from non-genuine flexible pipes was referenced. In addition, a first response to fuel fires should be foam blanket cover. It was also highlighted that low pressure piping does not require shielding, so if a leak occurs the consequences could be severe.

 

The Shipowners Club has noted that over 50% of fires within the engine room are caused by fuel/lubricating oil leakage onto hot surfaces. Oil leaks are often due to the failure of pipes and/or associated fittings. These failures can be attributed to a variety of causes including:

  • Mechanical fatigue
  • Vibration and pulsations
  • Chafing/fretting
  • Improper securing
  • Damage during maintenance operations
  • Improper repairs
  • Incorrect tightening procedures
  • Poor quality materials

 

Tags: CHIRPhuman errorlessons learned

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recommended

fire cruise ship sydney

Fire onboard cruise ship in Sydney harbour

February 3, 2023
gtt onboard co2 carbon capture

GTT receives €4.66M for onboard CO2 capture system

February 3, 2023

SEAFiT Poll

What is the biggest obstacle for the social life onboard?

Stay tuned for the results!

MARITIME EVENTS

Explore

  • Safety
  • Green
  • Smart
  • Risk
  • Others
  • Events
  • Plus

Useful Links

  • About
  • Disclaimer
  • Editorial Policies
  • Advertising
  • Contact

RISK4SEA Facts

Did you know that Flag matters for 2020? Handymax with China flag had 0 detentions in 116 inspections.

Learn more risk4sea.com

© 2021 SAFETY4SEA

No Result
View All Result
  • Safety
    • Alerts
    • Accidents
    • Loss Prevention
    • Maritime Health
    • Regulation
    • Safety
    • Seafarers
    • Security
  • Green
    • Arctic
    • Ballast
    • Emissions
    • Fuels
    • Green Shipping
    • Pollution
    • Ship Recycling
    • Technology
  • Smart
    • Connectivity
    • Cyber Security
    • E-navigation
    • Energy Efficiency
    • Maritime Software
    • Smart
  • Risk
    • CIC
    • Detentions
    • Fines
    • PSC Focus
    • Vetting
  • Others
    • Diversity in shipping
    • Maritime Knowledge
    • Offshore
    • Ports
    • Reports
    • Shipping
    • Sustainability
    • Videos
  • Columns
    • Opinions
    • Career Paths
    • Industry Voices
    • Maripedia
    • Maritime History
    • Seafarers Stories
    • SeaSense
  • Events
  • Plus

© 2021 SAFETY4SEA

This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Visit our Disclaimer.