Page 17: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (April 2017)

In the past, I have been asked to review Engine room not properly sealed system has been limited by excessive for a single discharge into a protected the ? re? ghting procedures used aboard prior to release: The extinguishing leakage of gas through open or im- space.” vessels in a post ? re reviews. Many capabilities of gas can be compro- properly closed doors, vents or ven- http://www.gard.no/Con- times, the initial crew report states that mised if the integrity and tightness of tilation ducts. Limited availability of tent/20733345/06-12%20Fixed%20 the CO2 system had been discharged but the boundaries of the protected space ? re-extinguishing agent: The quantity CO2%20fire-extinguishing%20sys- did not control the ? re and subsequently are not sound. On more than one oc- of CO2 gas available on board ships tems%20-%20consequences%20of%20 caused extensive damage. In reviewing casion, the effectiveness of a CO2 is normally limited to that required delayed%20release.pdf the procedures followed as well as the photos of the vessel after the ? re I have determined that, in some cases, one or more openings to the ? re area had not been secured prior to the CO2 discharge.

The CO2 will leak out of any openings to the ? re area and, during a ? re, the thermal currents from the heat of the ? re will cause the amount of CO2 leaked to be greatly increased. This has occurred not only on workboats but also on large ocean going vessels. While operating the CO2 system too quickly can cause problems, so to can taking too much time to deploy the systems. I have stud- ied many reports of ? res where the CO2 activation was delayed. We all know that one of the main reasons to delay the acti- vation is to ensure that all crewmembers are out of the ? re area and accounted for.

That is not something I intend to change.

Life will always be a ? rst concern. How- ever, at many ? res the dumping of the

CO2 is delayed for other reasons. On a few occasions, it was because the ves- sels master was concerned about any corporate rami? cations regarding his use of an expensive extinguishing system.

The master tried many times to make many unsuccessful hose line attacks on the ? re and delaying the CO2 activation

Maritime risks are vast. So is our team to see you for an extended period. By the time the

CO2 was released the ? re was too far ad- through them.

vanced for the CO2 to handle it.

Here is a quote from a “GARD” publi- cation which discusses both the delayed

Whether you provide marine services or transport goods, people or cargo, you face countless property discharge and discharging too early: and liability risks. When you work with Travelers Ocean Marine, you’ll be working with a team that has “Emergency response to engine deep knowledge of the maritime industry – backed by the financial strength of the #1 commercial room ? res can be better organized and carried out more ef? ciently if the crew property writer in the U.S.* We’re dedicated to helping you understand how to protect against is properly trained in the safe use of the unknown. But if the unfortunate should occur, you’ll be ready with the power of Travelers. the ship’s ? re-extinguishing systems.

That includes a 12,000-person claim organization – with a catastrophe response team, ready to be

The time it takes to make a decision deployed at a moment’s notice – and the financial strength to handle major claims. You can rest easy to release the ? xed ? re-extinguishing system is considered to be one of the knowing you’re not going it alone.

most critical factors during emergency response and main concerns related to *Reported by SNL Financial use of CO2 as the extinguishing agent in ships’ engine rooms can be summa- rized as follows:

Delayed release: For the typical engine room ? re involving ? ammable liquids, it is important to introduce the required quantities of CO2 quickly to limit the escalation of the ? re. In- travelers.com vestigations reveal that evacuation, © 2015 The Travelers Indemnity Company. All rights reserved. Travelers and the Travelers Umbrella logo are registered trademarks of The Travelers Indemnity Company in the U.S. muster and head counts during engine and other countries. 15-OM-1837 Rev. 8-15 room ? res often take longer than ex- pected because “the crew was running around and was dif? cult to count”.

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