Page 22: of Marine News Magazine (May 2015)

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COLUMN FIRE SAFETY

Offshore Workboat Fire Safety

A Novec 1230 gas suppression system provides a unique, Class-compliant and effective margin of safety for an offshore dive support vessel.

By Andrew Wright

Despite the recent drop in oil prices, vironmentally friendly medium for such suppression sys- the marine sector remains extremely tems. Novec 1230, manufactured by 3M, is a unique ? re busy supporting the oil industry, and extinguishing agent. Among the Clean Agents, it has the this will always remain the case. The lowest atmospheric lifetime of 5 days. It is stored as a liq- squeeze on contractual pricing and la- uid, which makes it easier for transport, and also features bor is a recent issue caused by that drop a “zero ozone depletion potential.” As with other clean in oil prices. Fortunately, the sector is agents, it is an excellent choice for computer rooms, elec- led by legislation in the form of IMO/ trical control rooms, storage areas, and any high value area.

SOLAS regulations and respective Flag State requirements Novec is calculated to discharge within 10 seconds, and which are controlled by regulatory authorities such as DNV, is normally calculated at a 4.2% concentration.

Lloyds, ABS and UKAS, all of which requires a robust ser- It is stored in containers as a low pressure ? uid which, vice sector that can attend to those needs when they arise. when discharged, transforms into colorless and odorless

No matter what the price of oil is, the need for safety gas. Unlike other ? uid extinguishing agents, however, it and ? re protection won’t go away. And, those requirements can be used with complete con? dence to suppress ? res in- can change as a function of external audits and/or internal volving electronic equipment. Once discharged, the agent decisions to increase, supplement or upgrade existing sys- can be dispersed through natural ventilation, leav- tems on workboats already in service. Such was the case on ing no residue to damage sensitive a recent assignment carried out by UK-based ? re equip- equipment. ment specialist Oteac. A dive support vessel which serves the North Sea oil and gas sector needed an upgraded ? re suppression system. Oteac was contracted to install new systems in areas designated by the vessel to be in need of additional protection, as well as replacement of some out- dated FM200 systems.

In total, the dive boat needed 14 systems, as identi- ? ed by internal audits and Safety Inspections conducted by Subsea7. From these internal processes, it was decided to enhance the vessel’s existing systems and other areas which also required coverage. Beyond this, it was decided that, viewing the original suppression systems, issues with ozone depletion and possible toxic discharge on the vessel would be harmful to the crew. The change to the NOVEC type system was determined to be a safer and environmen- tally better option; in other words, a non-toxic alternative, if discharged.

N 1230

OVEC

The re? t process was a major job, involving the instal- lation of 14 Novec 1230 gas suppression systems in DNV designated areas of risk on the vessel. The Novec 1230 system was selected because it is a user friendly and en-

May 2015

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