Shipowners Must Do More To Prevent Engineroom Fires
The Gard P&I Club- Loss Prevention No2-12 Shipowners are increasingly lax when it comes to upholding 2003 amendments to the Safety of Life at Sea Convention that are designed to prevent engineroom fires, according to a loss prevention circular from Gard.The circular says that the risk of fire is highest when maintenance work is taking place or immediately afterwards, but shipowners can underestimate the risks that certain repairs present because they are perceived to be simple. Because of this, owners sometimes fail to implement safety precautions."Typical examples are missing hot-work permits and the absence of a fire watch," the Norwegian P&I club claims. "Following a period of maintenance, the time available to prepare the vessel and get back in operation can be limited and the refitting of removed insulation mats or spray shields is often left for the crew to complete during the voyage."The rules require ships to be equipped with jacketed pipes in high-pressure fuel oil delivery lines, for high-temperature surfaces at risk of flammable oil impingement after a failure of an oil line to be insulated, and for spray shields to be provided for flammable oil lines immediately above or near potential ignition sources. However, the impact of ...
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