Escape Breathing Devices News

Substandard maintenance was found to be a major contributing factor at the root of a 2018 engine room fire aboard the DFDS ro-ro vessel Finlandia Seaways in April 2018, U.K. accident investigators found.The Lithuanian registered vessel was in transit from Zeebrugge, Belgium to Rosyth, U.K., when it suffered a catastrophic main engine failure that caused serious structural damage to the engine and a fire in the engine room. The vessel’s third engineer, who was on duty in the engine room at the time…

Survitec Group, one of the world’s leading marine safety companies, is now working in partnership with Ocenco to replace thousands of M-20.2 Emergency Escape Breathing Devices (EEBDs) that are reaching the end of their service life. When SOLAS amendment regulations II-2/13.3.4 and 13.4.3 came into force on 1 July 2002, all vessels had to be equipped with EEBDs. At the time, one of the most popular choices was the maintenance-free Ocenco M-20.2 EEBD. The 15-year service life on the first wave of products purchased to satisfy SOLAS is approaching, and many will expire in 2017. To help meet the high demand for replacement units, Survitec and Ocenco have agreed to work together.

The U.S. Coast Guard issued a marine safety alert while it conducts an ongoing investigation into a engine room fire that killed three aboard the Insignia cruise ship in St. Lucia in December. The USCG reminded shipowners to maintain machinery, establish escape routes, and conduct thorough engineering watches. The fire started after a bolted flange parted and a fuel oil spray under pressure developed from an operating engine’s fuel supply line. The fuel spray ignited when it contacted the engine’s exhaust piping or turbocharger components. The primary fire was extinguished when the vessel’s fine mist extinguishing system automatically activated and performed as designed. Fuel pumps and shutoff valves were also secured.

Amendments to the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) affecting many aspects of ship safety go into effect on July 1, including a new revised SOLAS chapter on fire protection, fire detection and fire extinction, amendments to chapters II-1, IX and X (to make a new High-Speed Craft Code mandatory) and record of equipment attached to safety certificates. A revised SOLAS chapter II-2 (Construction - Fire protection, fire detection and fire extinction) enters into force, which also makes a new International Code for Fire Safety Systems (FSS Code) mandatory. The revised chapter was developed over eight years by…

Prevention and control of fire aboard ships present a number of unique problems. Special attention must be paid to fire safety, and in particular to evacuation procedures from enclosed areas that can fill quickly with the toxic fumes generated by fire. A number of cruise lines are addressing this situation by providing their crews with a type of fire safety device that protects against these potentially lethal gases. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has joined several other major companies in the cruise industry with the decision to equip its fleet of cruise ships with EVAC-U8 Emergency Escape Smoke Hoods. These fire-safety products protect against smoke inhalation in the event of a shipboard fire.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has joined several other major companies in the cruise industry with the decision to equip its fleet of cruise ships with EVAC-U8 Emergency Escape Smoke Hoods. These fire-safety products protect against smoke inhalation in the event of a shipboard fire. EVAC-U8 smoke hoods have been installed on the 12 ships operated by Royal Caribbean, along with Celebrity Cruises’ five ships, for use by crew members. In the spring of 1999, Princess Cruise Lines deployed between 300 and 700 EVAC-U8 smoke hoods on each of the nine ships in its fleet, also for crew safety in the event of a fire emergency. Disney Cruise Lines has recently purchased EVAC-U8s for its ships as well.