PROBLEMS ASSOCIATED WITH HIDDEN ENGINE ROOM HOT SPOTS
A ro-ro ferry was operating to a normal schedule with contractors on board to conduct repairs to an auxiliary Article written by Joe Maguire, Technical Manager at Skuld P&I Club. The Club would like to draw attention to the continued dangers of fires which originate in the machinery space. Specifically, where the cause of the fire is as a result of a flammable liquid spraying onto a hot surface.
Typical root causes for such incidents have been identified as:
– Missing pipe brackets/supports on oil systems leading to increased vibrations and subsequent cracks or even breakage of the oil piping system.
– Missing cup over the fuel injector valve. – Original insulation or screening of hot surfaces was not maintained correctly. – Original insulation or screening of hot surfaces was not sufficient for preventing oil spray onto hot surfaces. – Insulation soaked with oil caught fire when sufficiently heated up. – Oil leakages from engine components like exhaust valve indicators spraying onto the exhaust manifold.
It is recommended to enhance prevention and protection against such fires and that a proactive inspection and evaluation programme is incorporated as part of the ongoing planned maintenance schedule to ensure all piping systems and equipment is maintained corrected and that design is appropriate. Combined into this the use of a thermal imaging camera can have great benefits of identifying any areas where a hot spot is developing or has not been identified before.
Routines for this screening should include but not be limited to:
– Mechanical inspection and maintenance of all the internal oil piping on machinery including external oil piping near to all equipment that can potentially leak onto hot surfaces.
– Inspection and maintenance of all the original screening arrangements and insulation installed on equipment.
– Inspection and maintenance of screening and insulation of external oil piping near to the machinery that can potentially leak onto hot surfaces.
– Inspection and evaluation of actual piping design and screening/insulation design.
MAIB REPORT ISSUED ON THE UNINTENTIONAL RELEASE OF CARBON DIOXIDE FROM FIXED FIRE- EXTINGUISHING SYSTEMS ON RO-RO VESSELS EDDYSTONE AND RED EAGLE
On 8 June 2016, the roll on, roll off (ro-ro) vessel Eddystone experienced an unintentional release of carbon dioxide (CO2) from its fixed fire-extinguishing system while in the Red Sea. A similar incident took place on 17 July 2017 on board the ro-ro passenger ferry Red Eagle while on passage from the Isle of Wight to Southampton. In both cases, gas leaked into the CO2 cylinder compartment, but was prevented from entering the engine room by the main distribution valve which remained closed. Fortunately, no one was harmed in either of these incidents. However, the unintended release of CO2 from fire-extinguishing systems has caused 72 deaths and 145 injuries, mainly in the marine industry, between 1975 and 2000.
Safety lessons – The maintenance of the fire-extinguishing systems was inadequate
– The available guidance for the marine industry on the maintenance and inspection of CO2 fixed fire- extinguishing systems was insufficient
Read the story in full and download the report at
https://bit.ly/2OwfxK6
The Report • December 2018 • Issue 86 | 13
Safety Briefings
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92
