P&O Blaze Crew Receives Praise For Composure

NUMAST has praised the professionalism of members who successfully tackled a blaze onboard a P&O passenger ferry. And the Union says the incident highlights the importance of good support from shore- based fire services. A Marine Accident Investigation Branch report on the incident - which involved an engincroom fire on the Pride of Le Havre - said fire brigade staff were impressed with the actions taken by the crew to combat the blaze and to prepare for re-entry to the machinery spaces. The fire began as the 33,336gt vessel was sailing down the Solent to carry out engine trials off the Isle of Wight in March. Investigators said the blaze began through ignition of oil vapour, caused by a leak from a thermal oil pump that in turn had resulted from the collapse of a deep-groove ballbearing. Initial efforts to fight the blaze with a dry powder extinguisher failed, and crew members were evacuated from the machinery spaces to allow the release of halon. According to the MAIB report, officers and crew responded well to the emergency and at no time was there any loss of composure. Isle of Wight fire brigade officials described their actions as 'very professional' and said that 4sensible and safe' procedures had been followed.

NUMAST national secretary Allan Graveson paid tribute to the response and said the incident demonstrated the value of investing in training, skills and experience. 'It also shows the importance of the provision of shore-based firefighting expertise and resources to support those at sea,'he added. The report identified a number of operational concerns, showing that 4even among a well-managed and organised ship's crew lapses do occur'. These included the fact that the auxiliary engineroom fan fire dampers were not airtight, an overboard discharge valve on the fire pump had been left open, two emergency fuel stops did not stop properly, and VHF radio sets had not been picked up by engincroom staff before they left the control room. Pointing out that the use of foam would have provided a seal to prevent hot oil vapours mixing with the atmosphere, the report recommends that P&OEF Portsmouth investigates the possibility of providing suitable foam extinguishers near to the thermal oil pumps on the Pride of Le Havre and other ships.

Extract from NEWMAST Telegraph December 1999