Improperly Installed Fuel Line Caused Engine Room Fire on APL Boxship
The NTSB has actually figured out that a loosened pipeline installation created the major engine area fire as well as power outage aboard the boxship President Eisenhower off California in 2015.
On April 26, 2021, the 2nd designer on President Eisenhower set up a brand-new area of steel tubes for the gas oil return for the primary engine, changing an area that had actually created a pinhole leakage. The following day, at 1900 hrs, the Eisenhower left the Port of Los Angeles for Oakland through theSanta Barbara Channel After increase the engine tons program for the transportation, the initial as well as 2nd designers finished a walkaround. All looked great, as well as at 0053 they left the engine area for the evening, leaving it in “unattended” standing.
One hr later on, at 0154, an abdominal on the bridge wing saw smoke originating from an engine area hatch. At regarding the exact same time, an emergency alarm turned on for the engine area. Looking at the CCTV display for the area, the captain as well as 3rd friend validated that there was an energetic engine area fire underway. The team complied with treatment, closing down air flow systems, shutting gas supply shutoffs, switching over to the emergency situation generator, as well as dressing firefighting groups.
As a very first effort, the team sent out in an assault group with a tube to attempt as well as vanquish the fire, however they rapidly figured out that it was “too much” to combat as well as pulled away. The captain bought all air flow hatches to the area shut as well as the taken care of firefighting carbon dioxide system turned on. This was finished at regarding 0223 hrs. After swamping the area with carbon dioxide, they enabled the fire-affected locations to cool down throughout the early morning to make certain that there would certainly be no reflash.
The fire left the vessel without propulsion, and also as the day advanced, President Eisenhower wandered better to coast. A reaction pull showed up on scene at regarding 1400 as well as assisted relocate the harmed ship even more out right into the network; at her closest strategy to land, she had to do with 3.5 miles from coast. An aquatic firefighting group came aboard as well as assisted the team confirm that the blaze was completely snuffed out, as well as the ship was pulled back to the Port of Los Angeles for repair services.
After the fire, the group leader for the salvor’s aquatic firefighting group informed NTSB that the vessel’s crewmembers were “very well trained” which that their use the taken care of carbon dioxide system to snuff out the fire “was just textbook perfect.”
In a post-casualty assessment, detectives located that a compression installation on completion of the tubes had actually come completely separated, leading to a spray of gasoline. Footage from the vessel’s electronic camera system revealed that the diesel spray started completely half an hour prior to the fire began. The diesel struck an uninsulated exhaust system part, stimulating a blaze.
NTSB ended that the improperly-installed compression installation as well as the uninsulated exhaust system part were the likely root causes of the fire. It included that the installation’s failing may not have actually caused a fire if the vessel had actually had a fast oil leakage discovery system, which might have identified the gas spray as well as seemed an alarm system prior to it sparked.
