U.S. Coast Guard Releases Report on Spirit of Boston Vessel Fire

On December 3, the U.S. Coast Guard released their report on the Spirit of Boston fire on March 24, 2023. The fire occurred onboard the vessel in the Boston Harbor after an evening dinner excursion. 

The vessel suffered extensive fire damage and was taken out of service for repairs. The cause of the casualty was determined to be a fire in the aft section of the main deck wait station, most likely started when a heating fuel canister that was still burning was inadvertently dropped on the deck and rolled under an obstruction and was left on the deck below combustible material to begin the fire cycle. 

The contributing factors that led to the fire, were the lack of safe handling and storage procedures for flammable liquids. Additionally, there was a lack of action by vessel personnel to extinguish a small fire on the deck with a nearby fire extinguisher or fire blanket that was close at hand, contributing to the spread of the fire. Company policy provides fire safety training for all vessel personnel, but in this incident, absolutely no firefighting action was taken by any employee of the vessel or company.

The report can be accessed here.