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iFOG, making them the two first trawlers in the world equipped with water mist total flooding suppression systems.FlexiFOG low pressure water mist is mainly used to replace CO2 systems inmachinery spaces. The fire suppression capability is equal as the system has tofulfil the test requirements set in the MSC Circulars. However, the safety is better with water mist because it isn?t hazardous to crew whilst it can be activated as soon as the fire is detected, without concern that there are personnel still left inside theprotected space.As a modern fire suppression system, water mist brings with it further benefits in terms of size and weight, so less spaceis required to install it. FlexiFOG system performance is optimised towards regu- lations with performance balancedagainst power consumption, size and weight. Power use is low by keeping pressure and flow at a reduced level. Re- cent developments have got the pressure down from 10.7 bar to 8 bar at the nozzle, reducing the requirement for emergency power even more when compared to high pressure systems.Also, weight, size and space restric-tions can be overcome by optimising the system design towards the vessel. As an example, Autronica was tasked with de- veloping suppression for a number of small coast guard vessels. The spec called for 6% foam liquid, with total of 2 x 6000litre tanks to be welded to the hull, witha total weight of 14 tons. Because theFlexiFoam system allows for customiza- tion in the same way as FlexiFOG, a pro- posal to change to 1% foam liquid basedon 2 x 1000 liter LLD plastic tanks was made. The total weight was three tons, so the new suppression system design man- aged to save 11 tons per vessel and a huge amount of space.Today it is just as critical to have focus on safety and work environment on board ships as it is in any other Industry, so hav- ing alternatives to CO2 fire suppression systems such as water mist and Novec 1230 gaseous system is a positive devel- opment for the industry. Ship-owners can now install safe fire suppression systems in all machinery spaces, which can be ac-tivated as soon as a fire is detected, rather than waiting for crew to evacuate the area. And that will save lives and vessels. December 2012www.marinelink.com 51MR#12 (50-57):MR Template 12/5/2012 12:37 PM Page 51