MAIB Safety Bulletin: Finnmaster, Blockage of fixed CO2 fire extinguishing system pilot hoses

MAIB Safety Bulletin: Finnmaster, Blockage of fixed CO2 fire extinguishing system pilot hoses

The Marine Accident Investigation Branch has published a Safety Bulletin into the blockage of fixed CO2 fire extinguishing system pilot hoses, as identified following a fire on board the roll-on/roll-off cargo ship Finnmaster in Hull, England on 19 September 2021.

Summary:

On 19 September 2021, a fire broke out in the auxiliary engine room on board the Finland registered roll-on/roll-off cargo ship Finnmaster while departing Hull. In an attempt to extinguish the fire, the ship’s crew activated the machinery space’s carbon dioxide (CO2) fire extinguishing system, but only half of the system’s gas cylinders opened. The initial investigation identified that one of the CO2 system pilot hoses was blocked due to a manufacturing defect. Several coupling leaks were also found in the pilot lines.

The key safety issues identified were:

• The quality assurance processes of the pilot hose assembly supplier failed to identify that the hose couplings had not been fully bored through.
• The onboard installation testing processes did not identify that some of the hose assemblies were blocked and that there were leaks in the CO2 system pilot lines.
• Latent defects may exist in the CO2 fire-fighting systems on board ships supplied with potentially affected hose assemblies delivered from the same batch.
  

Safety recommendations:

• Geeve Hydraulics B.V. has been recommended (S2022/105) to provide a copy of the MAIB safety bulletin to all customers supplied with the affected hose assemblies, and draw attention to the safety issues and the need for immediate action. It has also been recommended (S2022/106) to amend its procedures to ensure that hose assembly components are procured in accordance with the relevant type approval requirements.
• All companies identified as having been supplied with the affected hose assemblies by Geeve Hydraulics B.V. have been recommended (S2022/107M) to take immediate remedial action.