Safety First

SAFETY FIRST! from the SQE Department

MESSAGE from the DPA: The ship should be the safest place in the world!

Engine Room Fires & Hot Spots

Dear seafarers,

The above title came to me as an inspiration and an aspiration at the same time. When I realized how much I liked this title, I did have contradictory feelings. I instantly regretted how it was a common realization for all of us that: “The working environment of a ship can hide many hazards”, but

Elli Moretti “Between 2019 and 2020, the figures indicate a reduction in occurrences for almost all ship types, with the greatest reduction for cargo ships (15%)”

• what if we stop taking this for granted? It will be because all hazards are met with a timely response! • what if we commit to “failing safely”? It will be because you can make the potential impact of these hazards insignificant! • what if we switch our mindset to a “safety mode”? You will get home safely! I do believe we can change a “fixed mindset” to a “learning mindset” and learn how to prevent accidents so that they rarely occur onboard, or are as minor as possible, until our Goal Zero is achieved! As EMSA highlighted in their yearly accident analysis, which is shown in the graph: Our Company‘s results for the year 2020 show the same trend. There have been 11 incidents in a fleet of 32 vessels. So, we can say that 2 out of 3 fleet vessels remained accident free. Seven (7) of these accidents were, thankfully, of Severity 1-2. In addition, the number of Personnel Injuries decreased compared to the previous years’, and there was no serious injury. Let’s hope we are getting there! Keep it up and… Let’s make your ship the safest place in the world! I wish you safe voyages and a safe return home.

Elli Moretti

New Health & Safety Campaign Nr.02/2021 from Technical Dept:

A fire onboard may happen to any vessel and has to be managed not only successfully, but also quickly, in order to prevent greater damage or even the loss of vessel and crew, which could happen if the fire spreads. Fire on board is one of the most dangerous emergencies for a vessel. The above mentioned campaign stressed the increased danger of fire in machinery spaces originating from flammable oil leaks coming into contact with hot surfaces. Oil leakage hitting hot spots on engines is the most common cause of engine room fires on board ships. According to DNV casualty statistics, more than 60% of all engine room fires have been initiated by a hot spot. Primary sources of ignition (hot spots) in the engine room include: • Indicator Valves • Cut-outs for pressure/temperature sensors • Turbochargers, in particular flanges • Exhaust pipes from each cylinder • Exhaust piping after turbocharger • Cylinder covers • Transitions into exhaust manifolds • Exhaust manifolds, in particular overlaps between steel and lagging • Foundation and lifting lugs on exhaust ducts and manifolds • Boilers and especially: • Steam turbines • Incinerators • Purifiers

Effective drills are a vital element of accident prevention: Above we see a Fire Drill on board M/T SERENO

Fire Drill onboard M/T YANNIS P

LEARNING LESSONS (actual accident): What caused Finlandia Seaways’ exploding engine?

When a catastrophic engine breakdown aboard a cargo vessel resulted in parts from inside the crankcase flying across the engine room, investigators discovered it started with the failure of a single component.

(Source: MAIB & Marine Professional)

The incident The ro-ro cargo vessel Finlandia Seaways was 11nm off Lowestoft, England, on a routine passage from Zeebrugge, Belgium, to Rosyth, Scotland, when it suffered a main engine failure so severe it caused serious structural damage to the engine and ignited a fire in the engine room. The ship's third engineer, on duty in the engine room, suffered serious smokerelated lung, kidney and eye injuries. The third engineer had started his hourly inspection round of the engine and machinery spaces at 20:00 that evening. As he entered the purifier room, he heard loud metallic knocking sounds coming from inside the engine room. Looking into the engine room, he saw smoke rising from the main engine as the noise and vibration levels began to rapidly increase. Flashpoint Sensing danger, he ran back into the purifier room and crouched behind one of the purifiers. Almost immediately, there was a loud bang and a huge flash of flames. The ship blacked out. Within seconds the emergency generator cut in and the emergency lighting came on, but thick, acrid, black smoke now filled all the engine compartments, reducing the third engineer's visibility to zero. Realising his nearest escape route would take him past the engine at cylinder head level, he decided to use the secondary escape route at the aft end of the engine room. He took a deep breath and left the purifier room. Stepping into the cloak of dense black smoke, he ducked below the main engine exhaust gas trunking and ran aft past the two auxiliary generators. Traumatic escape The escape route led him to the first of three ladders, but he struggled to get beyond the ladder platform guardrail safety chains, falling back down the first ladder three times, losing his torch in the process. He eventually escaped through the funnel casing weather-tight door onto the upper vehicle deck, where he collapsed, gasping for breath, and struggling to see properly. Within 20 minutes of the start of the incident, the crew had sealed the engine room, activated the carbon dioxide fixed firefighting system and extinguished the fire. The third engineer was taken by an HM Coastguard helicopter to hospital for medical care, where he made a successful recovery.

Accident report conclusions

1. The fire was the consequence of a sudden major engine component failure, which led to the ejection of heavy engine parts from the crankcase and the release of hot oil vapours into the engine room. 2. The catastrophic engine failure was caused by a connecting rod small end that was found to have suffered a fatigue fracture. 3. The introduction of notches, probably caused during the bush removal process, introduced stress raisers into the small end, increased the likelihood of fatigue crack initiation, and therefore fatigue failure. 4. Poor overhaul practices probably caused the small end failure. 5. Recommended procedures for overhauling the connecting rod small ends had not been followed and the small ends had been damaged during the piston pin bush removal and fitting process. 6. Seven of the 11 intact small ends removed from the engine were found to have notch damage on the mating surface with the bush, resulting from the use of a disc cutter to remove the bushes. 7. The conrods were not overhauled in accordance with written procedures, and maintenance was not properly recorded 8. There was a lack of appreciation of the potential consequences of the stress raisers introduced during the overhaul of the connecting rod small ends, and the damage was viewed as inconsequential when compared with the mass of metal that made up the small end. 9. The main engine connecting rods were class survey items, but the classification society, LR, was not informed of the damage caused to the small ends during the overhaul, or that the connecting rods had accumulated more running hours than recommended by the engine manufacturer.

TRUST: TEN Really Useful Safety Tips for Fire Hazards

Most fires on board break out in the engine room and they are caused by oil leakages, boiler incidents, electrical failures or accidents during hot work operations due to a lack of proper maintenance and poor watchkeeping. Cargo spaces and accommodation are also locations where a fire may start. As soon as a fire is detected, several actions should be taken to ensure the safety of the personnel and vessel. 1. The general alarm should be sounded. 2. The bridge team should be informed. 3. The Engine Room should be advised. 4. Cargo & bunker operations (if any) should be shut down. 5. The crew should proceed to the muster stations and ensure everyone is accounted for. 6. The fire party should muster. 7. The fire should be isolated by closing ventilation system, skylights, doors and boundary cooling etc. 8. The crew should wear the appropriate PPE and use the proper fire extinguishing system for the type of fire in progress before entering the fire space. 9. Evacuate unnecessary personnel from the area. 10. Attend to any injured persons.