The International Marine Contractors Association (IMCA) provides lessons learned from an incident in which coins were found inserted into CO2 fire fighting cylinders.
What happened?
During a 10-year third party specialist inspection of a vessel CO2 fire suppression system, coins of Chinese manufacture were found inserted in 21 out of 24 main 45 kg CO2 cylinders. These coins were found blanketing high-pressure hoses, potentially compromising the effectiveness of the CO2 fire suppression system. The presence of foreign objects in such critical safety systems poses a severe risk to crew and vessel safety.
Lessons learned
Conduct an immediate inspection of the hose connections of the vessel’s CO2 fire suppression system. Any anomalies or concerns discovered during inspections can then be rectified immediately.
