During an annual maintenance of CO2 fixed firefighting equipment on a vessel, in the emergency generator switchboard room, there was an unplanned and unexpected release of water.
The incident
During the annual maintenance of the CO2 fixed firefighting system, air was blown at 7 bar through the lines. As part of this check, a person was located in the CO2 room on the starboard side of the main deck, an engineer was in the emergency generator room located below the switchboard and the vessel electrician was in the switchboard room to witness the tripping of the emergency generator room supply fan.
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When the task started, a fine mist was noticed coming from one of the nozzle heads in the emergency generator switchboard room. In addition, water was spraying out of the nozzles onto the 440V and 220V switchboards, transformers and surrounding areas. An all stop was immediately called over the radio.
Probable causes
The source of the water has not been identified, however it is suspected to have been as a result of condensation forming in the pipework supplying the nozzles. These pipes are of considerable length.
IMCA notes that compressed air systems should be blown before connection, to ensure that there is no water in the air system which may be transferred into the system being blown through.
Lesson learned
- After the incident, the cremembers placed bags with a small air vent onto the nozzle heads to collect any unexpected release of water during checks;
- Nozzle heads were covered appropriately during these tests;
- The planned maintenance system was updated to include instructions to cover nozzles within electrical switchboard spaces and any other sensitive areas during these tests;
- Other vessels and third-party contractors were advised to take similar precautions.
