On 13 January 2017, the Antigua & Barbuda registered dry cargo vessel Nortrader suffered two explosions in quick succession while anchored in Plymouth Sound, England. The vessel was loaded with a cargo of 2333 tonnes of unprocessed incinerator bottom ash.
The incident
On 10 January 2017, the master of Nortrader received instructions by email to load a full cargo of unprocessed incinerator bottom ash (U-IBA) at Plymouth, England for Beverwijk in the Netherlands.
The email was sent from Hudig & Veder Chartering BV (H&V), a company based in the Netherlands.
It specified that the cargo was non dangerous and stated: “cargo also include some foreign materials which is no problem. Cargo can be
loaded/discharged in rain.”
Nortrader berthed at Victoria Wharf, Plymouth, n 12 January. The loading procedure the same day and 2333t of U-IBA had been loaded in heavy and persistent rain.
After the final draught survey was completed, the master checked the weather forecast and decided to anchor of Plymouth and wait for the imminent bad weather to pass. In the afternoon, the vessel left the berth and anchored 30 minutes later in Plymouth Sound.
The next day, the bosun used the emergency fire pump from the bridge to clean the deck, as he was instructed, but he reported to the chief engineer that it was not delivering any water.
The chief engineer went to the forecastle store where the emergency fire pump main starter panel was located. After realising that the pump was running dry, he stopped the pump and then two loud explosions in quick succession occurred.
The chief engineer, who was inside the forecastle store at the time, suffered second degree burns and was airlifted to a nearby hospital. He was repatriated to Ukraine after 12 days and was declared ft for duty 4 months later.
The vessel suffered extensive damage and was out of service until 20 April.
Probable cause
The MAIB investigation found that the explosions were caused by the ignition of hydrogen gas released from the cargo.
Prior to this accident there had been 34 similar shipments of incinerator bottom ash from Plymouth to the Netherlands and, despite it not being listed in the International Maritime Solid Bulk Cargoes Code, no steps had been taken to seek approval from the competent authorities for its carriage.
The investigation also established that the testing protocols in place for assessing if the waste was capable of producing flammable gases were inappropriate and inadequate.
Recommendations
UK MAIB recommended the Maritime and Coastguard Agency to update the Merchant Shipping (Carriage of Cargoes) Regulations to refer to the International Maritime Solid Bulk Cargoes Code and to work with the Environment Agency to ensure that test protocols for the classification of cargoes are fit for purpose.
Recommendations have also been made to Nortrader’s owners to review their safety management system to reflect the requirements of the International Maritime Solid Bulk Cargoes Code.
For more details about the accident, consult the PDF below
