3 minute read

Safety / Consequences

from National Fisherman — Summer 2022

by National Fisherman

from National Fisherman — Summer 2022, page 62

Article from: National Fisherman — Summer 2022

Crew Shots

Safety

Hydraulic leak triggered fi re on Georges Bank trawler

By Kirk Moore

hydraulic hose failure triggered A an engine room re that engulfed a ground sh trawler 80 miles o Cape Cod in spring 2021, according to a newly released report from the National Transportation Safety Board.

The 99.8-foot steel stern trawler Nobska and its crew of ve were shing for haddock April 30, 2021 when the crew spotted and quickly extinguished a small re on the main engine exhaust pipe. They located a ruptured hydraulic hose in the pipe/hose tunnel between the engine room and wheelhouse, and replaced it.

Thinking the hazard had been resolved, the captain and crew resumed shing for four hours.

They were preparing to haul back around 5 p.m. when the captain, at the winch controls in the wheelhouse, saw black smoke coming out from under the console.

After trying to ght the re, the

The Nobska was fi shing for haddock on Georges Bank when a fi re was triggered by leaking hydraulic fl uid, according to the National Transportation Safety Board. BHF Nobska photo via NTSB.

crew donned survival suits, activated the EPIRB at 5:09 p.m. and deployed the life raft, tying the painter to the vessel.

A helicopter crew from Air Station Cape Cod hoisted the sheemen to safety around 7 p.m.

The re burned out after two days, and the Nobska was towed to New Bedford May 4, where investigators assessed the damage – determined to be a total loss of $2.4 million.

The NTSB concluded “the second re resulted in extensive damage throughout the vessel and was likely the result of another hydraulic hose leak, when atomized uid contacted a hot surface, most likely the exposed main engine exhaust pipe, and ashed into a re.”

The report names the probable cause as a “failure of a hydraulic hose within the engine room that allowed hydraulic uid to spray onto a hot surface, likely the exposed main engine exhaust pipe. Contributing to the failure of the hydraulic hose was possible heat damage from a re that occurred earlier in the day.

“The pipe/hose tunnel on board the Nobska, which extended from the engine room up two decks to the wheelhouse, did not have any insulation, pipe/cable re stops, or other barriers to prevent the passage of smoke, heat, and re – known as structural re protection,” the report said.

“This type of unprotected vertical tunnel has the potential to provide a pathway for res to spread quickly outside of the space of origination. Vessel owners and operators should identify such openings between decks and ensure they are structurally re protected to prevent the spread of a re.”