A missing retaining ring and mounting bracket on the port
main diesel engine led to an engine-room fire on a towing vessel near
Belleview, Kentucky, according to the
National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). A lack of familiarity with
fire-fighting procedures also hampered the extinguishing of the blaze.
On November 4th the Capt. Kirby Dupuis had departed
Paducah, Kentucky, bound upriver for Steubenville, Ohio, pushing 13 dry cargo barges
filled with sand, rock, and steel.
Early on November 9th the Florida Marine Transporters’
(FMT) vessel was sailing with both engines at about 5-to-6 knots when the
captain, who was on watch in the wheelhouse, noticed a flash on the engine room
video display. Immediately following the flash, the vessel’s fire detection
system alarmed. The captain sounded the general alarm and instructed the
deckhand on watch to notify all crewmembers about the fire and to begin
firefighting efforts.
The crewmembers fought the fire using portable
extinguishers and attempted to activate the vessel’s fixed fire-extinguishing
system. The fire was eventually extinguished by local firefighters. No
pollution or injuries to the six-person crew were reported, but the vessel
sustained an estimated $1.8m in damages.
The vessel’s video system showed lube oil spraying
inboard from the port main engine. About 10 seconds later, a flame was seen at
the top of the forward part of the engine.
An inspection of the engine found a broken O-ring and the
retaining ring missing from where the tube connected to the lube oil filter
housing. Additionally, supporting clips and mounting hardware for the lube oil
tube were missing on the port main engine in the mid-section area, and the bolt
that had held the supporting clips appeared to be sheared.
It was not known how long the supporting clips and
hardware had been missing from the engine. The last major work on the engine, a
top end overhaul, was in May 2018.
The crew attempted to use the fixed fire-extinguishing
system for the engine room, but investigators determined that the system was
not activated during the fire. One of the two levers required to activate the
system was not fully extended. As a result, the nitrogen gas from the pilot
cylinder did not discharge.
Although the crew were drilled regularly, none of the
drills included training on the fixed fire-extinguishing system.
The owner of the vessel was currently developing a
training video on the fixed fire-extinguishing system, which will become
required training for their crews.
The NTSB determined the probable cause of the engine room
fire was a lube oil tube on the port main engine that vibrated out of a joint
due to a missing retaining ring and mounting bracket. It sprayed pressurized
oil that made contact with a hot exhaust surface and ignited. Contributing to
the severity of the fire damage was the crew’s unfamiliarity with activation
procedures for the fixed fire-extinguishing system, which resulted in an
unsuccessful attempt to release the fire suppression fluid and extinguish the
fire.
