Fire in engine room on dive support vessel CSO Wellservicer with 1 person injured
Location: Entering Stavanger, Norway.
Completed PE Summary: CSO Wellservicer
A short summary of the accident and action taken:
| Merchant Vessel/Accident Details | |
|---|---|
| Vessel Name | CSO Wellservicer |
| Registered Owner | Barclays Mercantile Business Finance Ltd |
| Manager | Technip U.K. Limited |
| Port of Registry | Aberdeen |
| Flag | UKM-U.K. |
| Type | Dive support vessel |
| Built | 1989 |
| Classification Society | DNV |
| Construction | Steel |
| Length Overall | 111.4m |
| Gross Tonnage | 9158 |
| Date/Time | 05/06/2007, 0007 |
| Location of Incident | Stavanger, Norway |
| Incident Type | Fire in engine room |
| Persons Onboard | 103 |
| Injuries/Fatalities | 1 smoke inhalation injury |
| Damage/Pollution | Extensive damage to aft engine room and engine no. 5 |
Synopsis
While the vessel was entering Stavanger, a fire broke out in the aft engine room adjacent to No 5 engine. The vessel moored at the nearest berth available where the shore fire brigade boarded and extinguished the fire with water spray. Although the fire re-ignited when an extraction fan was started to clear the dense smoke, it was soon extinguished. The aft engine room was badly damaged by the fire, particularly in the vicinity of No 5 engine. Apart from an engineer who suffered minor smoke inhalation, there were no other injuries. Examination of the fire scene indicated that the fire was probably caused by marine gas oil spraying from a ruptured low pressure fuel pipe on to hot and exposed surfaces on the exhaust outlet piping of the turbocharger and igniting.
Action taken
The ship manager has:
-
Carried out thermal imaging inspection on the vessel’s engine components including exhaust pipes
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Shielded all low pressure fuel hoses so that in the case of a burst pipe the oil spray will be directed only to the bilges
-
Replaced all low pressure fuel hoses
The engine manufacturer has:
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Issued a bulletin advising that the low pressure hoses fitted to the engine type on Wellservicer be replaced every 12000 hours or a minimum of 2 years
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Modified the design of its low pressure pipes to help prevent damage during fitting
The Chief Inspector of Marine Accidents has written to the:
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International Association of Classification Societies (IACS) through Lloyd’s Register to highlight the vulnerability of machinery spaces to fire due to undetected hot spots, and to advise that its member societies be encouraged to adopt the routine use of thermal imaging techniques to assist in the survey of the insulation fitted to engine exhaust systems;
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Engine manufacturer, strongly advising that it review its policy on the shelf life of flexible hoses used on all of its engines;
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Ship manager, acknowledging the positive actions it has taken so far, and strongly advising it to implement these actions across its fleet.