An MSF Alert reports of an incident involving CO2 fire suppression system.
What Happened
Following a major refit/dry docking, a vessel departed port and sailed to its area of operation to complete the works and prepare for being commercially available. On arrival, the Flag State carried out an inspection of the vessel and found that all of the CO2 bottles for the engine room fire suppression system still had their safety pins in place.
This means that if there had been an engine room fire, the crew would have been unable to set off the suppression system remotely and any deployment of the system would have been seriously hampered and hindered.
Why Did it Happen
The CO2 safety pins had been put in at the start of the docking as per normal practice. At the end of the docking, when the vessel had left the Dry Dock and was moored alongside, the fire suppression system was to be tested by a 3rd party.
The safety pins were still in place and the 3rd party left them in situ whilst they were testing the CO2 heads.
Following the tests, the testing company stated that the system had been put back into service however, it is apparent that the pins were not removed and subsequently missed on any pre-sailing/pre undocking checks.
On investigation, the work on the system had been carried out without a Permit to Work in place, as per the vessels owners procedure which states that a Permit to Work for complex tasks must be in place for any work on the CO2 System.
Had a Permit to Work been in place, the failure to remove the pins would have been picked up during the inspection to recommission the system and close the Permit.
Recommendations
- All Masters, Chief Officers and Chief Engineers on vessels with CO2 systems were asked to ensure they are familiar with the relevant procedures for CO2 Rooms and Systems.
- Work on safety critical equipment, including when done by a 3rd party, should be covered under a Permit to Work.
- All vessels with CO2 Systems were asked to carry out a spot check on CO2 system to ensure the pins are removed and the system is ready for immediate use.
- Any work carried out on safety critical equipment by 3rd parties must be verified in service by a senior officer.
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Source: Marine Safety Forum
