Safety Digest
Lessons from Marine Accident Reports 3/2000


Case 12
A Fire Alongside Caused by Water!

Narrative

The 3,795gt cable vessel C S Iris was lying alongside Q pier in Portland, having been on stand-by for the previous six weeks waiting to enter dry dock in Falmouth. During this period, various contractors had been working aboard preparing her for docking. On 22 September, contractors were cleaning the forward deep tank using high-pressure water guns. While doing so they blasted a hole in the vent pipe which protrudes into the tank from the log compartment. The chief engineer and chief officer inspected the hole, and decided that repairs could be left until the dry dock. The deep tank would be filled for the voyage to Falmouth, as would the log compartment from the hole in the vent pipe. It was not seen as a problem.

Two days later the deep tank was ballasted. The chief officer told the carpenter to sound the tank, while the second engineer detailed a fourth engineer to operate the ballast pump. The normal procedure was for the engineer to start the pump and leave it running until told to stop it by the carpenter.

On this occasion the carpenter, who had other things to do, left it to another crewman to inform him as soon as the tank was full. There was a breakdown in communication and this information was never passed. The carpenter was not told that the tank was full, and without any instructions to stop the ballast pump the fourth engineer left it running. The tank overflowed, and it was not until the chief officer noticed the overflow that the pump was stopped.

Shortly afterwards the fire alarm sounded. It had been activated by a contractor who noticed sparks and smoke coming from an empty cabin on C deck, port side, forward. The fire brigade was called while the crew and contractors were mustered ashore. The onboard fire team investigated the scene of the fire, extinguished a small fire, and electrically isolated the area. The fire brigade arrived, checked the situation and, once satisfied the fire was out, left.

The cause of the fire was electrical.

On filling the deep tank, water had leaked into the log compartment vent pipe through the hole made by the high-pressure water guns during the tank washing. As the tank filled under pressure from the ballast pump, the deck rating appointed by the carpenter monitored the water level. When he saw it was full, he screwed the sounding pipe cap on and left, unaware that he should have told the engineer to stop the pump. As a result the tank pressurised, causing water to be forced up into the damaged vent pipe. A split weld further up the vent pipe allowed water to spill out on to an electrical conduit and into desk sockets in a cabin on C deck. The result was a short circuit, sparks and smoke.

The Lessons

The company fully investigated this incident and has issued a number of recommendations to its fleet as a result. The main lesson to emerge from this event is the importance of clear and unambiguous communication.

1. Whatever course of action is decided upon, it is ESSENTIAL that everyone involved is made fully aware of what is required.

2. Everyone should be fully briefed on what action to take, when to take it, and what to do if things appear to be getting out of hand. If you do not know, or do not understand, ASK. Far better to lose face than be the cause of an accident.

Two responsible members of the crew, the carpenter and the fourth engineer failed to think their actions through. The carpenter did not pass the correct instructions on to the deckhand, and the fourth engineer failed to monitor the operation at regular intervals. Fortunately, there was no great harm done, BUT it could have had a far different outcome. A fire onboard a ship is a frightening thing, so THINK your job through, and measure up to the RESPONSIBILITY.

This accident also shows how one relatively small error in one activity can have unexpected consequences elsewhere.