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National Fire Protection Association News

05 Oct 2023

Making Hydrogen Work: Demo Project in San Francisco Port

© muddymari / Adobe Stock

Hornblower Energy LLC, in partnership with the Port of San Franciso, the U.S. Department of Energy and six corporate partners, including Air Liquide and Glosten, is leading a project to demonstrate the feasibility and viability of using hydrogen (H2) as a maritime fuel.The project is located at Pier 68 in San Francisco. DOE selected the project for funding in 2020. It’s supposed to be completed in 2025 but there are important decision dates before then. So far, project activities have concentrated on planning and modeling.

12 Sep 2022

NTSB Issues Recommendations Following Fire on Laid Up Laker

(Stern of the Roger Blough during firefighting efforts. Source: U.S. Coast Guard)

The United States' National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) issued three safety recommendations following its investigation into the February 1, 2021, engine room fire aboard the bulk carrier Roger Blough.The Roger Blough was docked in winter layup at the Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding facility on Sturgeon Bay, Wis. when a fire started in the engine room. The cargo-unloading conveyor belts then ignited, causing extensive damage throughout the aft section of the vessel. The shipkeeper on board departed the vessel without injury. No pollution was reported.

14 Apr 2022

NFPA Certificated Marine Chemists – A Century of Fire Protection and Life Safety

Image Source: National Fire Protection Association (NFPA)

As the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) Technical Committee on Gas Hazards votes on the First Draft of the next edition of NFPA 306, Standard for the Control of Gas Hazards on Vessels, the NFPA Certificated Marine Chemist Program will mark 100 years of fire protection and life safety on marine vessels, in shipyards, marine terminals and waterfront facilities.What started a century ago as an industry effort to prevent fires on vessels under repair has never been more important. According to a 2007 report of the U.S.

21 Apr 2020

Big City Fireboats

(Credit: Bill Ingalls, NASA)

On March 3, the Coast Guard published a notice that Martin Midstream Partners (MMP), a petrochemical transport and storage company, was seeking approval to modify terminal operations in Beaumont, Texas, along the Sabine-Neches Waterway. If approved, MMP would expand its liquefied hazardous gas (LHG) operations, both in volume and products. Instead of just handling ammonia the change would allow shipments of butane, propane, ethane, ethylene and propylene.Critically, MMP’s expansion would increase LHG vessel transit from 24 ships to as many as 350 per year.

07 Nov 2018

Preventing Maritime Vessel Explosions – The Role of the Marine Chemist

Image: Used with permission, National Fire Protection Association

With advances in technology, increased regulatory requirements for training, and an industry that has been committed to improving working conditions, especially those associated with confined space entry and fire prevention, why are we still seeing maritime related fires and explosions that often include serious injury or loss of life? HistoryFollowing the First World War, as cargo vessels, particularly tank ships, were being converted to carry larger cargos, the incident rate of fires and explosions during shipbuilding, repair, and conversion began to rise.

19 Feb 2016

Kidde Fire Systems Introduces New Monitors

Kidde Fire Systems  launched a new control head monitor (CHM) for electric actuators and solenoid monitors for directional valves. The new CHM is fully compliant with the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 2001-2012 Standard on Clean Agent Fire Extinguishing Systems and is designed for simple installation on existing Kidde systems. According to the company, electric actuators are commonly used as activating devices for the release of a fire suppression agent in the event of a fire and the NFPA requires these devices to be in place and ready to activate.

07 Jan 2016

Borets Names Langley as HSE Manager

David Langley (Photo: Borets)

Borets, a company in engineering, manufacturing, sales and service of electric submersible pump (ESP) systems, has named David Langley as North American HSE manager. Based at Borets’ U.S. corporate office in Houston, Langley will be responsible for developing and implementing safety programs and policies that align with the company’s corporate standards for health, safety and environmental compliance. Langley earned a Master of Science degree in operations management from the University of Arkansas and a Bachelor of Science in organizational management from Bethel University in Tennessee.

13 Jan 2015

Jensen Bags Fireboat Contract

Image courtesy of Jensen Maritime

Jensen Maritime, a wholly owned Crowley Maritime Corp. subsidiary, has been selected to provide detail production engineering and construction management on an 88' x 25' Super Pumper NFPA Type II Fireboat for the San Francisco Fire Department. Jensen completed the fireboat contract-design for the city in 2012. “We are proud to work with the San Francisco Fire Department again,” said Johan Sperling, Jensen vice president. Vigor Industrial will build the vessel at its 27-acre facility in Seattle.

13 Oct 2014

Monitored Confined-Space Entry

Preparation and vigilance are everything when it comes to confined space entry.

Protecting Workers, and Ensuring Safe Sailing for the Maritime Industry. The cable-laying vessel GS Global Sentinel was undergoing repair work. Shipyard workers and members of the ship’s crew found a mysteriously high hydrogen sulfide reading in a confined space on board that created a toxic environment. They could not understand why. What caused this potentially lethal scenario? After investigation and safe entry into the tank, crewmembers of the vessel and shipyard workers discovered…

30 May 2014

TAI Awarded US Army Fireboat Contract

Photo: TAI

Technology Associates, Inc. (TAI) of New Orleans, La., announced that it has been notified by the U.S. Army Contracting Command – Rock Island (ACC-RI) that it has been evaluated as the successful offerer for a contract to design and supply a 75 ft high speed fireboat to the U.S. Army. The fireboat will provide maritime firefighting protection and support at the Military Ocean Terminal Concord (MOTCO) in Concord, California. The U.S. Army will receive this Fast Response Fire Fighting Vessel in support U.S.

30 May 2014

AMI Wins $3.5 Million Defense Contract

Photo courtesy of Auburn

Auburn Manufacturing, Inc. (AMI) has won a multiyear contract to supply over 200,000 yards of AMI-SIL fabric to the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard (NSY) in Bremerton, Washington, for use in hot work operations during ship repair. The contract, which could total as much as $3.5 million over the next five years, "reflects the continued confidence the Department of Defense has in our products," said Kathie Leonard, AMI's President and CEO. "We've been supplying hot work safety fabrics to the Navy for over twenty years under various contracts, and are now well over 1.5 million yards. Keeping its U.S.

17 Mar 2014

Proposal on Spray Painting Passes

NMMA in conjunction with Lauderdale Marine Center (LMC) and the National Fire Protection Committee on Spray Finishing, recently drafted and approved a new standard which reduces the fire risks of spray painting large objects, including yachts in temporary membrane enclosures. Temporary membrane enclosures are used in the marine industry to paint yachts that are too large to fit in a spray booth. The standard not only makes painting safer but eases the concerns of fire marshals and regulators who oversee this work. The new standard will be published in Chapter 18 of the 2015 edition of the National Fire Protection Association’s code 33 (NFPA33) and  promotes best-practices throughout the industry.

30 Aug 2013

New Fireboats Headed to Port of Long Beach

Photo: Robert Allan Ltd.

Robert Allan Ltd. announced that it was selected to be the Owner’s Naval Architect for the design and construction of two new fireboats for the Port of Long Beach. Custom designed for service in the U.S. port, the fireboats will be operated by the Long Beach Fire Department and will be amongst the largest fireboats in North America. Robert Allan Ltd.’s design work began in 2011, with a series of kick-off meetings with the Port of Long Beach and the Long Beach Fire Department to establish the Statement of Requirements for the new vessels.

26 Jan 2012

Marine Firefighting Veteran Joins Resolve

Jeff Johnson, Manager, Training and Response.

Marine Firefighting Veteran Jeff Johnson Joins Resolve as Manager, Training and Response, and Pacific Region Responder. RESOLVE Marine Group has announced that Jeff Johnson has joined the company as Manager, Training and Response with responsibilities in both RESOLVE’s  Salvage & Fire (Americas) emergency response/OPA-90 subsidiary and at RESOLVE Maritime Academy, the training subsidiary. Jeff  focuses on continuous development of RESOLVE’s  U.S. and territorial waters Firefighting Response Network  and serves  as the company’s  Pacific Region Responder for marine incidents…

11 Feb 2009

Salvage and marine firefighting

Chief Warrant Officer Guy Inzunza rides a stage to the sea bed during a dive from the Military Sealift Command rescue and salvage ship USNS Grasp.

On New Year’s Eve, 2008, the US Coast Guard issued its long-awaited regulations regarding salvage and marine firefighting. While there are various points of criticism, overall the rulemaking is an excellent advance over the current situation of preparing in advance for marine casualties that implicate salvage and firefighting. The owners or operators of a tank vessel that carries or is designed to carry Group I-IV oils as cargo in bulk has until July 1, 2010 to revise its vessel response plan (VRP) and submit it to the Coast Guard for consideration and approval.

17 May 2004

CTAC Meetings Announced

In June, there will be two meetings of subcommittees of the Chemical Transportation Advisory Committee (CTAC), which is sponsored by the U.S. Coast Guard. On June 8-9, the Subcommittee on Hazardous Cargo Transportation Security will meet in Washington, DC to discuss the potential addition of acrylonitrile to the Certain Dangerous Cargo (CDC) definition and to review recent workgroup discussions and outcomes regarding CDC mixtures and the Declaration of Security. 69 Fed. Reg. 27946 (May 17, 2004). On June 10, the Subcommittee on the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 472 Standard will conduct a teleconference meeting to discuss the formation of a marine emergency responder chapter in NFPA 472, Professional Competence of Responders to Hazardous Materials Incidents. 69 Fed. Reg.

01 Jul 2004

CTAC – teleconference meeting

The Chemical Transportation Advisory Committee (CTAC), sponsored by the U.S. Coast Guard, will conduct a teleconference meeting of its Subcommittee on the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 472 Standard. The purpose of the meeting is to discuss the future draft of a marine emergency responder chapter in NFPA 472, Professional Competence of Responders to Hazardous Materials Incidents. The teleconference meeting will be on July 20, 2004. Written comments should be submitted by July 19, 2004. 69 Fed. Reg. 39494 (HK Law).

10 May 2002

ABS Prepares For Anticipated LNG Growth

With the global LNG (liquefied natural gas) market forecast to double in size over the next decade, industry is readying to provide ample liquefaction capacity to meet demand. In the United States alone, LNG imports reached 4.9 million tons in 2000, about 5 percent of the global LNG trade, and up from 3.4 million tons in 1999. Drivers for the rapid LNG growth include continued demand for a cleaner-burning fuel and the need to bring "stranded" gas from deepwater and remote areas to market. Concern over long-term U.S. gas supply; a larger number of new supply projects; and lower LNG infrastructure costs from a decade ago also are contributors to the LNG growth spurt in recent years. But perhaps the reality of Sept.

07 Jun 2002

A Naval Architect’s Look at Design Trends

Reading tea leaves on a boat underway is an exercise in frustration because just as the leaves start to settle, another wave comes along and changes the picture. Similarly, trying to foresee trends in the marine industry. Just as you see things shaping up, a change occurs and the industry is re-shuffled. However I believe that I can discuss three particular trends that are part of our collective future. The first of these is the fact that the marine industry will continue to see a growing body of regulations affecting how we design, build, and operate vessels. Some examples of the alphabet soup that we must deal with include ADA, STCW, ISM, EPA, etc. These regulations are being created by organizations both within and outside of the marine industry. Many marine regulators such as the U.S.

13 Dec 2004

Fire Suppression Systems at Waterfront Facilities

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit ruled that the owner of a waterfront facility used for offloading petroleum could not recover costs of improvements to its fire suppression system because it did not prove that the improvements were required by regulation. Under its contract with nearby oil terminals to which it was connected by pipelines, costs for compliance with city, state, or federal regulations applicable to operation of the pipelines was to be borne by the oil terminals. Meetings held at the Coast Guard’s Marine Safety Office with the waterfront facility and federal, state, and local officials raised concerns about the insufficiency of the fire suppression system at the facility.

10 Jan 2005

Legal Notes

President George Bush has signed into law legislation repealing a four year old rule imposing a 50% duty on the cost of routine repairs and maintenance carried out by U.S. merchant mariners while their vessel is at sea. The elimination of the duty, which customs authorities have levied on US-flag carriers since April 2001, represents a victory for the domestic shipowning community. The community has lobbied hard against it since its introduction. President Bush signed into law the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 (S. 2845). The major emphasis of the legislation is reform of the U.S. intelligence organization. Other measures, though, may impact the maritime community.

03 Jan 2007

OSHA Issued Notice on Shipyard Safety

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issued a notice confirming that its incorporation by reference of 19 National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) standards related to fire protection for shipyard employment. Source: HK Law