The Swedish Club published its Monthly Safety Scenario for September, describing an engine room fire incident onboard a bulk carrier.
As described by the Club, it was winter and the vessel, a bulk carrier, arrived at the discharge port to unload a cargo of steel pipes. It had recently undergone a major engine overhaul. In port, a port state inspection was carried out, identifying 13 deficiencies, some related to firefighting equipment availability, gaskets, valves, and general tidiness.
The vessel departed two days later, sailing in ballast in the North Atlantic towards the next port. The weather at departure was reported as NW 8 winds, 4-6 metre seas, -8°C temperature, and moderate icing. The vessel rolled and pitched in the heavy weather.
At 05:55, the fire alarm sounded in the engine room. The Second Engineer went to the engine room and saw fire coming from the main engine in the area of cylinders 8 and 9. The crew assembled on the poop deck, initiating firefighting and lifesaving preparations. The main engine was stopped by the Second Engineer using the emergency stop in the engine control room.
The Chief Engineer observed fuel spraying from the fuel booster unit’s forward end and acted to stop the pumps and close the valves. Attempts to extinguish the fire were unsuccessful. Due to the vessel rolling, fuel that had accumulated on the upper engine room deck spilled onto the top of the main engine and hot exhaust. The fire spread to multiple cylinders, forcing the crew to evacuate the engine room, and the CO2 system was released. However, the system did not work as intended, as some piping was in bad condition, and not all the bottles were released.
An SOS signal was transmitted by the Master, which was acknowledged by the coast guard. The Master ordered the crew to abandon ship, which was carried out successfully without injuries.
A coast guard vessel arrived the following day and connected towing lines. Another tug also arrived to assist. It was discovered that a fracture had occurred in a small pipe (approximately 4mm diameter) connected to a shut-off valve and gauge/pressure transmitter unit. Fuel leaked from the fractured pipe onto the main engine, leading to the fire in the engine room. Ignition was likely due to contact with the hot engine cylinder exhaust manifold.
Repairing the vessel was costly and took three months, as all the electrical cabling, insulation, and firefighting equipment in the engine room, in addition to the fuel booster unit, had to be replaced. Cleaning the engine room was a difficult and complicated process, the Club concludes.
Lessons learned
When discussing this case, please consider that the actions taken at the time made sense for all involved. Swedish Club advises to not only judge but also ask why these actions were taken and could this happen on your vessel?
- What were the immediate causes of this accident?
- Is there a risk that this accident could happen on our vessel?
- Why do you think cracks had developed on the pipe?
- When a section of pipe is replaced, is the entire pipe inspected, and will the pipe be pressure tested after work has been carried out?
- What are our procedures for keeping the engine room tidy?
- Are our procedures for the fire-extinguishing system sufficient?
- Do we inspect the insulation in the engine room?
- How do we ensure that insulation is adequate in the engine room?
- When maintenance has been completed, do we inspect that the insulation is in place and not contaminated?
- How often do we inspect the CO2 system, and are all engine crew trained on how to operate it?
- How often do we have fire drills in the engine room, as this is generally where fires start?
- Are our firefighting drills effective enough to address the problems in this case?
- Do our procedures make sense for the work we actually do?
- What sections of our SMS were breached, if any, and is our SMS sufficient to prevent this accident?
- If procedures were breached, why do you think this was the case?
- What can we learn?
