Barge hearth burned for 26 hours [USCG photograph]
The National Transportation Safety Board stated Thursday that lithium-ion batteries and different doable ignition sources might pose a fireplace security problem within the transportation of scrap supplies as cargo. The warning comes after the company launched its report on a May 23, 2022, incident during which a fireplace found aboard a scrap steel barge burned for 26 hours earlier than it was extinguished by fireboats.
The barge hearth concerned the loaded 300-foot-long scrap steel barge CMT Y Not 6 when it was below tow by the Coeymans Marine Towing (CMT) towing vessel Daisy Mae, northbound within the Delaware Bay, below bareboat constitution to an affiliated entity of Eastern Metal Recycling USA (EMR) of Camden, N.J.
At about 00.30 a.m., native time, after exiting the Daisy Mae’s engine room, the AB on watch appeared aft on the barge and noticed smoke and a glow emanating from the pile of scrap steel within the darkness.
That was the start of a harrowing drama that’s recounted intimately within the full report, which like all NTSB experiences is effectively price studying in full to get an image of what truly went on for the vessel crew concerned.
In its evaluation of the incident, NTSB notes that, “the crew quickly notified their company management of the fire. They shortened the tow wire to the barge for better control and moved the vessel away from any marine traffic. Considering the Daisy Mae’s distance from the barge and need to keep the tow line attached to control the barge, the Daisy Mae crew took the appropriate steps to prevent and fight the fire.”
At 01.10 a.m, a Coast Guard small boat and two native municipality hearth boats arrived on scene and started combating the fireplace. At this level, the fireplace on the barge had grown to an “inferno,” as described by the mate. The barge was towed into shallower water, and extra tow wire was set free in order that its weight lay on the underside to carry the barge on location. Aided by 4 further hearth boats from neighboring municipalities, firefighting efforts continued for the subsequent 24 hours earlier than the fireplace was lastly extinguished. No accidents or air pollution had been reported. Damage to the barge was estimated at $7 million. There was no injury to the towing vessel.
POSTCASUALTY INVESTIGATION
The postcasualty inspection of CMT Y Not 6 revealed structural injury per a high-temperature hearth concentrated within the aft part of the barge, says the NTSB. The scrap steel cargo in that space additionally exhibited indicators of a high-temperature hearth. Much of the scrap steel had melted from the warmth after which solidified when the fireplace was extinguished, creating massive steel items. The magnitude of the fireplace and the destruction of the cargo within the space the place the fireplace was first recognized prevented investigators from figuring out a conclusive origin of the fireplace. However, investigators discovered flammable nonmetallic supplies, reminiscent of plastic, rubber, insulation, and electrical parts, inside the nondamaged cargo. It is probably going that these supplies had been current all through the cargo and, as soon as uncovered to an ignition supply, caught hearth after which fueled and sustained the fireplace.
Investigators thought of a number of potential ignition sources for the barge and famous that “the scrap steel cargo included end-of-life autos and home equipment. Improperly ready autos and home equipment inside the scrap steel that might have contained small quantities of flammable liquids or different prohibited supplies additionally might have been an ignition supply.
“Another potential source of ignition was damaged lithium-ion batteries, although suppliers screened the cargo for prohibited materials such as lithium-ion batteries before it was loaded on board the barge. EMR’s vice president of operations acknowledged the fire dangers associated with lithium-ion batteries, their increasingly prolific use in a wide range of products, and the difficulty in identifying them during the screening process.”
Due to the severity of the fireplace on the barge, which destroyed supplies in its space of origin, investigators weren’t in a position to decide its precise trigger.
PROBABLE CAUSE
The National Transportation Safety Board determines that the possible explanation for the fireplace aboard the deck barge CMT Y Not 6 was the ignition of a flamable materials by an undetermined supply, reminiscent of sparking from shifting metallic cargo, self-heating of metallic or nonmetallic cargo, improperly ready autos and home equipment, or broken lithium-ion batteries.
LESSONS LEARNED
Although scrap steel cargo is often nonhazardous and poses a low hearth danger, says NTSB, there have been latest vessel fires involving such cargo. Even with provider acceptance agreements and high quality assurance personnel visually inspecting scrap steel, metallic and nonmetallic hazardous supplies typically are current inside shoreside scrap steel piles and might be loaded onto vessels. These often-flammable supplies elevate the fireplace danger and may result in intense fires. Qualified cargo-surveying personnel can help the vessel’s captain earlier than and through loading operations to restrict the presence of hazardous, flamable materials in scrap steel. Thermal imagery is an efficient instrument that might be used to establish sizzling spots in scrap steel cargo at shoreside amenities. Once scrap steel is loaded onto a barge, it’s tough for a towing vessel crew to visually examine the cargo whereas underway.
- Download the total NTSB report HERE
