Vessel Fire News

The National Transportation Safety Board highlighted effective placement of smoke and fire detectors following its investigation of a fire aboard a fishing vessel last year near Tatoosh Island, Washington.“Installation of smoke and fire detectors in spaces that are typically uncrewed when underway, such as the engine room, allows for the earliest detection and notification of a fire, maximizing the time for operators to respond to the fire or take actions to abandon the vessel…

The US Coast Guard Sector San Juan marine investigators and vessel inspection teams are investigating two separate and unrelated vessel fires in Puerto Rico.Both vessel fires were successfully extinguished, and there are currently no reports of marine pollution or reported injuries in either case.The most recent vessel fire occurred Saturday morning aboard the M/T Scot Stuttgart, a Marshall Islands flagged 383-foot chemical tank ship, while the vessel was moored at Puerto Nuevo Channel’s N Wharf.At 3:43 a.m.…

The US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has recommended that land-based firefighters be better prepared for marine vessel firefighting following a fatal fire on the roll-on/roll-off container vessel Grande Costa D’Avorio in Newark, New Jersey.The Grande Costa D’Avorio was docked at Port Newark on July 5, 2023, when a vehicle used by shoreside workers to push used vehicles onto the vessel caught fire on an interior garage deck. The ship’s captain ordered use of the vessel’s carbon dioxide extinguishing system…

Aqueous film-forming foam (AFFF) has been used to extinguish fires aboard maritime vessels since its introduction in the 1960s. For decades, AFFF was the foam of choice due to its effectiveness and affordability. However, over the last 15 years, its use has come under increased scrutiny due to health concerns related to its fluorinated materials.In 2009, international restrictions were introduced when perfluorooctanoic sulfonic acid (PFOS), a per- and polyfluoroalkyl substance (PFAS)…

A marine services company was cited for 15 serious violations and fined $164,000 for exposing workers to fire and asphyxiation hazards while making repairs to a Canadian-registered bulk carrier moored at the Port of Ashtabula, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) said.The 81-year-old vessel Cuyahoga was in winter lay-up when a fire broke out on March 15, 2024 while maintenance and repair work was being performed. All crew members working on board managed to escape without injury.Acting on a referral from the U.S.

The exact cause of a 2023 fire aboard a research vessel in Alaska has eluded investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), which issued its final report on the incident on Tuesday.On January 19, 2023, small vessel Qualifier 105 was being stored ashore for the winter in the Northern Enterprises Boat Yard in Homer, Alaska when a fire started in a stateroom below the main deck. The local fire department extinguished the fire and no pollution or injuries were reported.

A fishing vessel's fire detection and notification system failed to notify crewmembers when the stern trawler caught fire in Tacoma, Wash. last spring.The Kodiak Enterprise was docked at a Trident Seafoods facility in Tacoma when a fire broke out in its the dry stores room on April 8, 2023, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said in its recent report on the incident.A deckhand from a nearby vessel first saw the fire and reported it to a Trident security guard, who then called a Trident official…

Preservation efforts are underway to renovate an 85-year old vessel known as “America’s Fireboat”.Designed by noted naval architect William Francis Gibbs and built in 1938 at United Shipyards on Staten Island, the vessel Fire Fighter would go on to serve a long and storied career before being decommissioned and eventually transferred to The Fireboat Fire Fighter Museum in 2013.The iconic fireboat is undergoing extensive renovations to return the vessel to her original glory, the museum announced this week. Escorted by the U.S.

A Unified Command has been established to continue response to the fire aboard Grimaldi cargo vessel Grande Costa D’Avorio, which caught fire Wednesday night around 9:30 PM at the Port of Newark, an incident in which two firefighters died Thursday.The U.S. Coast Guard, Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, Newark Fire Department, and Gallagher Marine Systems (as representative of the ship operator) have established a Unified Command in Port Newark, supported by a host of federal…

A shelter in place order has been lifted as a large fishing vessel fire begins to die down in Tacoma, Wash.Fire broke out on board the factory trawler Kodiak Enterprise early Saturday morning, progressing throughout the ship while moored at Trident Seafoods in the Hylebos Waterway, according to the U.S. Coast Guard.The City of Tacoma Fire Department is issuing a temporary shelter in place order for Northeast Tacoma, Browns Point and Dash Point neighborhoods as flames inched closer toward the vessel’s freon tanks, which could see pressure build from the fire's heat.

Fire Island Ferries has taken delivery of its newest vessel, Fire Island Maid, designed by Elliott Bay Design Group (EBDG) and built by Metal Shark in Bayou La Batre, Ala.The 70- by  23-foot multipurpose vehicle ferry features a steel hull and aluminum superstructure and is equipped with a hydraulic ramp for loading and unloading heavy equipment. The reinforced deck is capable of supporting fully loaded concrete trucks and general cargo up to 100,000 pounds. The aft pilot house accommodates two crew and up to six passengers (assumed to be in their vehicles).

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…

A hydraulic hose failure led to an engine room fire aboard a fishing vessel off the coast of Massachusetts, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said Thursday. Marine Investigation Report 22/13 details the NTSB’s investigation into the April 30, 2021, fire board the fishing vessel Nobska. The five-member crew was ground fishing in Georges Banks, about 80 miles east of Cape Cod, Massachusetts, when a fire started in the engine room and quickly engulfed the vessel. After unsuccessful attempts to extinguish the fire…

Inadequate planning for hot work led to a fire aboard a commercial fish processor while docked at a shipyard in Tacoma, Wash., the National Transportation Safety Board said in its marine investigation report released Thursday.On Feb. 17, 2021, a fire was reported on the commercial fish processor Aleutian Falcon while the vessel was docked for repairs at a shipyard in Tacoma, Washington. The Tacoma Fire Department responded and extinguished the fire four days later. No one was on board the vessel at the time of the fire, and there were no injuries reported.

A fishing vessel fire and sinking off the coast of Mississippi was likely cause by deteriorated wiring on board, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) determined.The Lucky Angel was trawling for shrimp in the Gulf of Mexico when a fire broke out in the vessel’s engine room on December 10, 2020. The three crewmembers attempted to fight the fire but were forced to abandon the vessel. They were rescued by the U.S. Coast Guard. The vessel sank two days later. No pollution was reported. There was one minor injury.

Shipbuilder Metal Shark has introduced the 38 Defiant NXT, described as a next-generation welded aluminum monohull pilothouse model based on the company’s 38 Defiant platform. The first new vessel, “Fire Boat 2,” has been delivered to Orange Beach Fire Rescue in Alabama.Since 2011, Metal Shark has delivered over 100 legacy model 38 Defiant vessels, in a wide range of configurations to fire departments, law enforcement agencies, the US Coast Guard and Navy, and multiple foreign…

U.S. Coast Guard said Thursday it had responded to a boat fire near Carlsbad, California in an incident in which the 50-foot boat eventually sank.Coast Guard Sector San  Diego watchstanders received several reports of a boat, on fire approximately seven miles off the Carlsbad coast around 9 a.m. local time.Coast Guard watchstanders dispatched an MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew and diverted the Coast Guard Cutters Munro, Benjamin Bottoms, and the  Haddock."While Coast Guard assets were en route, the Oceanside Harbor Master confirmed that the boat's name was the Relentless.

Australia's national transport safety investigator is calling out inadequate international vessel fire safety standards and regulations in the wake of a 2018 bulk carrier fire that took five days to contain and extinguish.The 202 meter, Australian flagged self-unloading bulk carrier Iron Chieftain was discharging its cargo of dolomite at Port Kembla, New South Wales in the early hours of June 18, 2018 when friction, probably from a failed bearing, generated enough heat to ignite a rubber conveyor belt in the C-Loop internal cargo handling space.

All 45 passengers and crew members have been rescued from a ferry that caught fire roughly 5.5 nautical miles east off Binongkalan Point, Cebu Thursday night.The Philippine-registered RoRo / passenger ship MV Filipinas Dinagat owned by Cokaliong Shipping Lines was traveling from Cebu City for Palompon, Leyte when the fire erupted on board.By the time the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) arrived on scene to conduct rescue operations, the stricken vessel had become totally engulfed in flames.Immediately…

These days, cost-conscious municipalities across the fruited plain, from sea to shining sea, are ordering new waterborne assets to cover their many local responsibilities. When they do, they want ‘more bang for their buck,’ combining multiple missions – and the equipment that makes it all possible – onto one hull. That’s a tall order on the typically compact patrol boat style hulls that tend to be big on performance, but short on space for equipment that can demand a significant physical footprint. One such shipbuilder stepping up to plate to deliver on a raft of promises is Gulf Coast-based Metal Shark. Significantly expanding its presence in the fireboat market with a diverse range of fireboats currently in production for multiple customers…

Coast Guard and partner agencies are responding to a vessel fire near Santa Cruz Island Monday.At approximately 3:15 a.m., Coast Guard Sector Los Angeles-Long Beach watchstanders overheard a mayday call via channel 16 of an engulfed 75-foot commercial diving vessel with 38 people aboard.Crews from the Coast Guard, Santa Barbara Fire Department, Ventura County Fire Department and Vessel Assist responded. The fire department crews were fighting the fire when the vessel sank 20 yards off shore in 64 feet of water.Five people were evacuated aboard a good Samaritan pleasure craft Great Escape.Currently, 33 people aboard the vessel are unaccounted for.Watchstanders launched two Coast Guard Station Channel Islands Harbor 45-foot Response Boat-Medium crews…

The Coast Guard has suspended the active search for the remaining unaccounted for crewmember of the Sincerity Ace, Wednesday.“Following the conclusion of morning and afternoon searches by our aircraft and commercial vessels we suspended the active search. This is always a difficult decision and takes many factors into account,” said Chief Petty Officer Dennis Vetrano, with Coast Guard Joint Rescue Coordination Center Honolulu. "We extend our condolences to the families and loved ones of the crewmembers affected by this tragedy.”Good Samaritans from four merchant vessels were able to rescue 16 of the 21 Sincerity Ace crew who abandoned ship following a fire, Monday.

The Coast Guard and good Samaritans aboard several commercial vessels are responding to a reported vessel fire on the 650-foot Sincerity Ace 1,800 nautical miles (2071 statute miles) northwest of Oahu on the high seas, Monday.“The distance involved here requires any and all available support, we thank the crews of the commercial vessels for volunteering to assist and have Coast Guard air support en route,” said Petty Officer 1st Class Les Elliott of JRCC Honolulu.One commercial vessel…