Page 40: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (December 2011)

Engine Room Fire Protection Minimax expanded the high pressure water mist extinguishing system Minifog marine XP for use in engine rooms andcargo pump rooms of up to 8,235 cu. m. volume. With this, Minimax meets the stricter requirements, especially on boardcruise ships. Minimax has experience in fine spray extinguishing technology, which is also known as water mist tech- nology, and now applies this system to new dimensions. The Minifog marine XP high pressure water mist extinguishing system reduces water requirements by 90% compared to classic sprinkler sys-tems, while still offering the same extin- guishing yield. This offers a range of ad- vantages for ships. For example, it sig- nificantly reduces the risk of damages to vessel technology outside of the fire area, passengers protecting optimally and re-ducing extinguishing water consumption with the same scope of protection. This is possible through the specially devel- oped sprinklers and nozzles which usewater mist to combat fires efficiently whilst simultaneously cooling the area. A further technical development has en- abled Minimax to expand its previously used system Minifog marine XP from3,348 m* to engine rooms and cargo pump rooms with a volume of up to 8,235 m*, in accordance to IMO 1165standard.Especially in passenger shipping, ton-nage is increasing considerably. Whereas the largest cruise ship stretched 311 me- tres in length in 2006, the record holderin 2011 now boasts a length of 360 me- tres. Accordingly, engine rooms are growing, too. Today*s giants of the sea host engine rooms with several diesel en- gines with more than 80,000 HP in total.Top levels of safety at sea requires a sys- tem which can detects fires in their initial phase and immediately extinguished. Only this way can equipment be pro- tected from consequential damage andthe cruise continued.In the protected room, a pipe network is installed with open Minifog nozzles,which are organised in extinguishing areas via selector valves. In the event of a fire, the selector valve opens, the Mini- fog nozzles convert the extinguishing water into water mist and the fire is quickly extinguished. Minimax Minifog marine XP systems have a range of addi- tional benefits: space and weight are re- duced, since the extinguishing water, which is decreased by up to 90% com-pared to classic sprinkler systems, alsofunctions with pipes, pumps and othercomponents with less mass and space re-quirements. The lower space require- ments for the pipe system also facilitate retrofitting in older vessels. The Minimax high pressure fine spray system Minifog marine XP fulfils the current regulations IMO A800 and IMO 1165 for safe fire protection on seagoing and inland navi- gation vessels. Email: [email protected] Reporter & Engineering News TECHNICALPRODUCTSMR Dec.11 # 5 (34-41):MR Template 12/6/2011 2:47 PM Page 40