Published by The Maritime Executive

Published by The Maritime Executive

Published by The Maritime Executive

Published by The Maritime Executive

Published Sep 1, 2022 9:33 PM by The Maritime Executive

The National Transportation Safety Board has issued new recommendations for safe layup for ships on the Great Lakes, based on findings from the fire aboard the bulker Roger Blough last year.

On Feb. 1, 2021, the Roger Blough was moored in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin in winter layup. A fire started in the engine room, then progressed to her unloading conveyor belts, which caught fire and burned. This caused extensive damage to the ship, on the order of $100 million. The sole caretaker on board safely escaped to the pier, and no pollution was reported. 

The NTSB's investigators determined that the fire started with a diesel furnace which had been installed in the engine room to keep it warm overwinter. The burner assembly's mounting coupling broke, and the burner dropped and fractured its own fuel line, igniting a fire. 

Once the fire started, a central alarm system went off and automatically notified a list of company contacts. The shipkeeper was not on the list, and he only woke up seven minutes later when the fire alarm in his cabin went off. By that point, the fire was already spreading. 

In the month leading up to the fire, the chief engineer and an OEM service tech had removed and reinstalled the burner multiple times while troubleshooting; the repeated removal likely damaged the burner's mounting coupling, leading to its failure, NTSB determined. 

In addition, the furnace had no fire-activated automatic fuel oil shutoff valve on the piping before the burner, which would have stopped the fuel feeding the fire and limited its spread. The National Fire Protection Association recommends that furnace burners have a fire-activated quick-closing valve - but the NFPA standard does not yet extend to vessels.

“There are no regulations regarding winter layup procedures for commercial vessels operating in the Great Lakes,” the report said. “The lack of regulations or classification standards related to diesel oil-fired air heating furnace construction, installation, safety shutdowns, and system alarms poses a risk to life and property if the equipment is not installed and maintained to standards similar to those in place for other oil-fired equipment.”

NTSB recommended that the U.S. Coast Guard and ABS should develop standards for furnace installations in line with the NFPA guidelines. 

Published Sep 9, 2022 7:43 PM by The Maritime Executive

Three years after car carrier Golden Ray wrecked in Georgia’s St. Simons Sound and a year after the salvage operation was completed the legacy of the wreck continues to hang over the Georgia community. On Wednesday, one day shy of the third anniversary of the wreck heeling over in the sound and triggering the massive salvage operation a new lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court in Brunswick, Georgia echoing issues raised by the local government in a similar suit...

Published Sep 9, 2022 6:35 PM by The Maritime Executive

SMM 2022 wrapped up on Friday, and the numbers show that the industry is happy to return to in-person events. Over the course of the week, more than 30,000 people came to the Hamburg Messe conference complex to check out suppliers, meet friends and customers, close deals - and, of course, to party. The first two days of the show were particularly packed with visitors, and some corporate presentations had standing room only.  The talk of the conference was decarbonization, of course, along...

Published Sep 9, 2022 6:27 PM by The Maritime Executive

The U.S Coast Guard intends to remove the wrecks of two abandoned ships in Oregon’s Columbia River after it became apparent they are a danger to the environment and a risk to vessels operating outside the navigation channel. The Coast Guard said that two years after it oversaw the removal of thousands of gallons of diesel and oily water from the decommissioned 125-foot cutter the Alert and the 100-foot former Navy tugboat Sakarissa, the two derelict vessels that sunk off...

Published Sep 9, 2022 5:51 PM by The Maritime Executive

The Productivity Commission of Australia released a report, which among other issues focuses on boosting productivity at the country’s major seaports. The report contends that persistent inefficiencies at the Australian ports are costing the economy an estimated A$605 million (approximately US$415 million) per year. The report is part of an inquiry commissioned by the Coalition Party during the tenure of Scott Morrison, leader of Australia’s Liberal Party and the country’s Prime Minister from 2018 till May of this year. Last...

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