US Coast Guard Announces Fire Safety Campaign for Small Passenger Vessels
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, will also include inspection of some vessels initially certificated prior to 1996 that carry 100 or more passengers.
Owners and operators of all small passenger vessels are advised to assess each vessel, using the checklist:
• Review emergency duties with the entire crew to ensure everyone understands their role in the event of fire, flooding, man overboard, abandon ship, or other type of emergency. Regularly conduct training and drills to ensure each crewmember is familiar with the use of onboard firefighting, lifesaving, and safety systems.
• Review the frequency and content of crew training and drills. Ensure each event is logged.
• Review the vessel’s Certificate of Inspection (COI) and ensure crewmembers are aware of the number of passengers permitted, minimum manning requirements, and operational limits such as route, safe speed, or weather conditions.
• Review procedures for recording passenger count. Ensure that the passenger safety orientation includes the location of emergency exits, survival craft, and ring life buoys; locations of and instructions for donning life jackets; and any other instructions pertinent to the particular vessel’s operations. Consider conducting emergency escape drills with passengers, especially when they have access below the main deck.
• Ensure all firefighting and fire protection equipment is on board and operational including fixed suppression systems, portable extinguishers, fire doors, and smoke and heat detectors. Verify integrity of installed structural fire insulation.
• Ensure every means of escape is unobstructed, marked with “EMERGENCY EXIT, KEEP CLEAR,” and can be operated by one person from either side, including in the dark.
• Ensure extension cords are used only in temporary applications and power strips are used sparingly. Identify lingering or outstanding electrical problems and provide a repair proposal to the local Officer in Charge, Marine Inspection (OCMI).
• Verify that flammable or combustible materials, such as cardboard boxes, rags, and garbage, are not stored near sources of heat, such as machinery, stoves, and space heaters. Remove any accumulation of oil, trash, and debris from bilges. Ensure stoves and surrounding areas are free of grease buildup.
• Ensure all written procedures, instructions, checklists, and manuals are accurate and used by the crew. Determine which onboard practices for operations, maintenance, emergency response, or training are not documented and create written procedures, instructions, checklists, or manuals.
The fire onboard the P/V Conception in 2019 was a high-profile tragedy in the sector. The Conception was a 75-foot, wood-and-fiberglass passenger vessel that was carrying 33 passengers and six crew members when a fire broke out in the early hours of September 2, 2019 while the boat was anchored in Platt’s Harbor near Santa Cruz Island. The fire, which engulfed the boat and led to its sinking, resulted in the deaths of 34 people who had been sleeping below deck. Five crewmembers, were able to escape and survived.
In October 2022, the captain was indicted on a charge of misconduct or neglect of ship officer. The charge stated that the captain failed his responsibilities in several ways including failing to conduct sufficient fire drills and crew training and failing to provide firefighting instructions or directions to crewmembers after the fire started.
