Preventing fires at sea

Introducing the Marine Fire Safety Pocket Checklist

Lloyd's Register and UK P&I Club booklet

To save lives and damage to assets and cargo, it is vital to reduce the risk of fire and explosion at sea. Consequently, Lloyd's Register, in conjunction with the UK P&I Club, has produced the Marine Fire Safety Pocket Checklist to help reduce incidents at sea and the risk of Port State Control (PSC) detentions.

Lloyd's Register and the UK Club have analysed deficiencies found by PSC inspectors in ports worldwide over the three-year period. They have related these to their own experienced observations and developed a reusable checklist to help crew members pre-empt and manage the risk of fire more effectively.

The booklet was launched at Thomas Miller P&I's offices in London on May 26th.

Iain Wilson, Fleet Quality Manager, Lloyd's Register, explained: "The Marine Fire Safety Pocket Checklist should help crew members to take responsibility for areas of the ship and operations which can present fire hazards and help remind them of the key areas to monitor. It should also support vessels' own operational and maintenance procedures and flag state requirements."

As well as the threat to life, fires are costly. Over the past 20 years, fires at sea have cost well over $20 million per annum. Fire is one of the most expensive sources of cargo liability claims across the shipping industry. Only hatch cover problems and bad stowage have been comparable. Dry and bagged bulk were the cargoes most often hit by fire while crude oil, containers, dry bulk and cars produced the highest claims.

The great majority of large cargo fires start in ships' holds, with others originating in the engine room, cargo tanks, accommodation areas and pumprooms. It is often difficult to pin down their causes in cargo vessels, although spontaneous combustion, variously in relation to fishmeal, tobacco, cotton, woodpulp and coal, has been the most common. Smoking stevedores remain prominent transgressors, while hotwork, machinery in hatch areas and cargo lights and electrical equipment are significant causes.

Human error is responsible for more fires than equipment failure, with shore error a perhaps surprisingly bigger factor than operational mistakes by deck and engineering officers and crew.

Since Port State Control officers always start their inspections in the master's office, it is essential that certification, documents, records and manuals are up-to-date, valid and available. The booklet lists 30 of these covering the condition, inspection, testing and servicing of fire safety equipment, fire and damage control plans and crew drills.

In operational areas, the focus should be on fire dampers and ventilators; fire-fighting equipment and appliances, including fixed extinguisher systems; means of escape; personal equipment; and doors, detection equipment and alarms. For engine room and machinery spaces, the emphasis should be on cleanliness, the condition of fire pumps, emergency quick closing valves and shutdowns, the jacketed piping system for high pressure fuel lines and ensuring flammable materials are kept separate or insulated from hot surfaces and liquids.

Sprinkler systems and ventilators should be closely checked in accommodation areas while international shore connection, paint locker protection and ventilators are priorities on deck. In tanks and holds, careful attention should be paid to inert gas (tankers only) and CO2 systems and to special requirements for dangerous goods.

Close attention should be paid to emergency fire pumps, generators, batteries, possible hazards from workshops and the cargo pump room in tankers. Fire drills should be laid down and carried out.

Karl Lumbers, the UK Club's Loss Prevention Director, maintains that professional seafarers fear fire more than any other hazard. "Potential sources of trouble are many and widely dispersed. You cannot pay too much attention to avoiding and pre-empting incidents in the first place. Similarly, officers and crew must be rigorous about the positioning, condition, maintenance, inspection and testing of all appliances. Most important, they should be trained and regularly drilled in their use."

Note to editors: The Marine Fire Safety Pocket Checklist is being distributed by Lloyd's Register, mainly to owners and operators, and by the UK P&I Club to its members. The text will be available for viewing on www.lr.org and www.ukpandi.com. It is the fourth in a series aimed at helping owners, operators and crew comply with international convention requirements, thereby reducing the risk of Port State Control detention. The other checklists are Reducing the Risk of Port State Control Detentions, Marine Pollution Prevention and Life Saving Appliances. All can be ordered on www.lr.org or through any of Lloyd's Register's 175 marine offices worldwide. Lloyd's Register has developed a one day training course 'A Practical Approach to Port State Control.' The course reflects the success of the Pocket Checklists and was developed as a result of clients requesting more detailed guidance on best practice for handling PSC inspections effectively. Course fact sheets are available from Lloyd's Register please go to: http://www.lr.org/Industries/Marine/Services/Training/Courses/course+detail.htm?courseid=124

-ends-