Fire Safety As News

The German animal welfare organization Animal Welfare Foundation and the French environmental organization Robin des Bois have published a report on the safety risks associated with livestock carriers trading from the European Union. This snapshot of the fleet follows one produced by the organizations three years ago.Currently, 64 livestock carriers are permitted to load European animals on EU-ports to then export them to third countries. The report states that nearly half of…

A new fire safety study by survival technology solutions provider Survitec finds that existing fire-fighting methods used to extinguish machinery space spray and pool fires on conventionally fueled vessels are inadequate when dealing with methanol-based fires.This follows extensive comparative fire tests on dual-fuel marine engines using diesel oil and methanol.“Our tests confirm that traditional water mist fire suppression mechanisms do not perform as expected on methanol pool fires and methanol spray fires.

The U.S. Coast Guard published an interim rule on December 27, 2021, to implement Congressionally-mandated requirements for fire safety on “covered small passenger vessels” (CSPVs), as defined by 46 U.S.C. 3306(n). Congress adopted the statutory mandate in response to the fire and loss of 34 lives onboard the dive boat CONCEPTION off the California coast on 02 September 2019.The USCG has identified a need to clarify the reference in 46 CFR 175.110(c) with respect to fire detection…

(The Center Square) - The U.S. Coast Guard says it “will not enforce” a new California Air Resources Board regulation, citing “safety concerns.”The Coast Guard and business organizations oppose CARB's requirement that commercial harbor craft install diesel particulate filters (DPF) linked to a number of fires. Seventeen states are suing the Environmental Protection Agency for giving an exemption to California alone to enact its own air standards that, by power of its market size…

Officials dedicated two new Port of Long Beach fireboat stations that are enhancing the Long Beach Fire Department’s waterside and landside emergency response capabilities, better safeguarding visiting ships, cargo and waterfront workers.The facilities – Fireboat Station 15 and Fireboat Station 20 – are the products of a $109 million Port of Long Beach program to preserve business continuity, security and economic interests. With an anticipated lifespan of 50 years, both stations…

The Lewis B. Puller-class expeditionary sea base USS Hershel “Woody” Williams (ESB 4) completed its routine planned maintenance in Rijeka, Croatia Feb. 8, 2024 at Viktor Lenac Shipyard.Military Sealift Command, Europe and Africa (MSCEURAF) and Forward Deployed Regional Maintenance Center (FDRMC) executed the ship’s planned Mid-Term Availability (MTA), a depot-level maintenance period, to maintain safety and mission-essential equipment and ensure the ship will reach its planned service life.Maintenance work during the MTA included Safety of Life At Sea equipment such as communication…

Because there are so many different kinds of passenger vessels, the critical topic of passenger safety can sometimes appear as a set of niche topics, each one just distantly connected to another. After all, passengers aboard a cruise ship in the Caribbean face safety issues that are much different than a commuter going from Jersey City to Manhattan or a tourist crossing from the Mukilteo, Wash. ferry terminal to Whidbey Island or a family on a fishing vessel in Miami.Importantly, though, for passenger vessel operators, a commitment to safety is not siloed.

Developer of maritime battery systems EST-Floattech has received an investment of 4 million euros from Energy Transition Fund Rotterdam and existing shareholders Rotterdam Port Fund, PDENH, Ponooc, and Yard Energy.Energy Transition Fund Rotterdam is investing 3 million euros, the fund's first investment in maritime battery systems. The existing shareholders are jointly investing 1 million euros.The announcement was made by Chantal Zeegers, the Alderman for Climate, Building, and Housing in Rotterdam.

Dry chemical powder solutions have long safeguarded LNG and LPG cargo vessels, but as the industry embraces liquefied gases as a propulsion fuel, the unique requirements for protecting bunkering stations on a wider range of vessels, such as large cruise ships, containerships, and tankers, is becoming increasingly important. In response to the growing demand for advanced fire safety solutions to support the maritime's energy transition, Survitec has reconfigured and enhanced its Dry Chemical Powder (DCP) fire extinguishing system.

Technical inquiries to SRC Group ramped up after it received Approval in Principle (AIP) for a concept which ‘reinvented methanol fuel storage’ on board ships. Delivering the answers has seen technical talk converting into project discussions        ‘Green’ methanol has the ability to one day run vessels almost emission-free, and commercial shipping increasingly investigates. Derived today principally from natural gas, methanol is nonetheless available, relatively easy to handle and predictable.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) recommended Tuesday that engine-room fire detection and fixed fire extinguishing systems be installed in small passenger vessels previously exempted from U.S. Coast Guard regulations in Subchapter K.The NTSB issued the recommendations after investigating an engine room fire aboard the Spirit of Norfolk during a sightseeing cruise near Naval Station Norfolk, Viriginia, on June 7, 2022, with 108 people on board. The fire was too large for the crew to fight, and the passengers and crew were evacuated to other vessels.

Lloyd’s Register has reminded the industry that the Member Authorities of the Paris and Tokyo Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) on Port State Control (PSC) are launching a joint Concentrated Inspection Campaign (CIC) on fire safety from September 1 to November 30, 2023.The Member Authorities of the Black Sea Memorandum of Understanding on Port State Control and the Member Authorities of the Acuerdo Vina Del Mar 1992 are concurrently also launching a CIC.The purpose of the campaign…

The Member Authorities of the Tokyo and the Paris Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) on Port State Control will launch a joint Concentrated Inspection Campaign (CIC) on Fire Safety in September.The purpose of the campaign is to create awareness among the ship’s crew and owners about the importance of fire safety measures and to verify that the ship complies with fire safety requirements under the relevant IMO instruments.This inspection campaign will be held for three months, commencing from September 1, 2023 and ending November 30, 2023.

The Member Authorities of the Tokyo and the Paris Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) on Port State Control will launch a joint ConcentratedInspection Campaign (CIC) on Fire Safety to create awareness among the ship’s crew and owners about the importance of fire safety measures; and  to verify that the ship complies with fire safety requirements under the relevant IMO instruments.The three-month inspection campaign will commence September 1, 2023 and end November 30, 2023, and will…

Cracks in a muffler and the substantial use of combustible materials in accommodation spaces led to a fire aboard a towing vessel last year on the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway near Freeport, Texas, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said Thursday.On June 25, 2022, the four-person crew aboard the towing vessel Mary Dupre departed Port Comfort, Texas, for Houston, pushing a single barge loaded with bio-diesel fuel. The following day, a fire broke out, leading to a total loss of the vessel, which was estimated at $1 million.

In the maritime industry, seafarer safety and professionalism are critical to ensuring smooth operations and minimizing risks. As technical advancements continue to reshape every industry including ours, large language models like ChatGPT and Bard have the potential to directly assist seafarers in performing their duties more safely and professionally. So, how can a seafarer leverage these tools to enhance their onboard performance? Let’s look at some examples.One example is in providing instant, human-readable access to regulations and guidelines.

Survitec has announced a new interactive safety management solution it hopes will substantially improve onboard safety.The Safety Management and Rapid Response Technology Interface (SMARR-TI) uses a graphical monitoring interface to integrate fire detection and fire suppression systems within one system.SMARR-TI, which Survitec developed in cooperation with Turkish shipyard Tersan and Norway’s Havila Voyages, is already in operation on a pair of 15,500gt passenger ships.SMARR-TI…

Lithium-ion batteries and other possible ignition sources could pose a fire safety issue in the transportation of scrap materials as cargo, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said Thursday.Although scrap metal cargo is typically nonhazardous and poses a low fire risk, there have been several recent fires involving such cargo. In January 2022, a shoreside pile caught fire in Newark, N.J. Two international vessels carrying scrap material experienced cargo fires in 2022…

The US Coast Guard’s Office of Commercial Vessel Compliance has released its U.S. Port State Control Annual Report for 2022, with Latvia noted as having the highest detention ratio, ahead of Bolivia.The report lists highest risk flag administrations based on their 2020-2022 detention ratio as: Latvia (57.14%), Bolivia (31.25%), Togo (7.69%), Curacao (4.88%), Italy (3.39%), Turkey (2.90%) and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (2.30%).Medium risk flag administrations were Cyprus…

The US Coast Guard has published Marine Safety Information Bulletin 05-23, Fire Safety on Small Passenger Vessels and announced a concentrated inspection campaign.The Bulletin encourages owners and operators to do a self-assessment of the fire safety of their vessels and provides a checklist evaluating fire safety and emergency preparedness on board.MSIB 05-23 also announces that the concentrated inspection campaign, which will focus on fire safety aboard small passenger vessels…

Shipboard fire a constant threat: Bonhomme Richard tragedy an enduring lesson in fire prevention, responseJuly 12, 2020 was a lazy Sunday morning at Naval Base San Diego. USS Bonhomme Richard (LHD 6), which had been commissioned only two years earlier, had recently made the base its new homeport and was docked as it underwent a maintenance availability.But, the silence of that morning was rocked by an explosion a few minutes before 9 a.m., changing everything for the Wasp-class amphibious assault ship.Below the decks…

A Liberian-flagged containership operated by MSC Shipmanagement Ltd (MSC) has been banned from Australian ports for 90 days over a long list of safety failures and deficiencies, the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) said.AMSA said it issued a refusal of access direction notice to the MSC Kymea II following months of sub-standard performance from the ship’s operator, including critical maintenance issues.The agency's inspection of the vessel found 21 deficiencies in total, including a defective free fall lifeboat steering system, defective fire safety systems, dangerously-stored flammable materials, and multiple wasted or missing…

A fire that broke out aboard a Mississippi River cruise vessel was found to be caused by combustible materials left unprotected near hot work, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said Tuesday.The passenger vessel Natchez, used by the New Orleans Steamboat Company for daytime and dinner jazz cruises daily from the French Quarter in New Orleans, was moored and out of service when it went up in flames on May 3, 2022. The fire resulted in $1.5 million in damages to the vessel…