Canada Finding on Cruise Ship Switchboard Fire

The Canadian Transportation Safety Board (TSB) issued its report of the investigation into the switchboard fire on the cruiseship STATENDAM in the Strait of Georgia on 4 August 2002. The main circuit breaker for one of the diesel generators suffered a catastrophic failure that started fires in the main switchboard room and the adjacent engine control room. The crew extinguished the fires. The TSB determined that the current international structural fire protection standards around main switchboard rooms do not reflect the fire risk inherent in electrical systems that transmit high levels of power. Report Number M02W0135 (HK Law)