ON DECK
Safety
Hydraulic leak triggered fire on Georges Bank trawler By Kirk Moore
hydraulic hose failure triggered an engine room fire that engulfed a groundfish trawler 80 miles off Cape Cod in spring 2021, according to a newly released report from the National Transportation Safety Board. The 99.8-foot steel stern trawler Nobska and its crew of five were fishing for haddock April 30, 2021 when the crew spotted and quickly extinguished a small fire on the main engine exhaust pipe. They located a ruptured hydraulic hose in the pipe/hose tunnel between the engine room and wheelhouse, and replaced it. Thinking the hazard had been resolved, the captain and crew resumed fishing for four hours. They were preparing to haul back around 5 p.m. when the captain, at the winch controls in the wheelhouse, saw black smoke coming out from under the console. After trying to fight the fire, the
A
EVK WATER LUBRICATED SHAFT SEAL
The Nobska was fishing for haddock on Georges Bank when a fire was triggered by leaking hydraulic fluid, according to the National Transportation Safety Board. BHF Nobska photo via NTSB.
crew donned survival suits, activated the EPIRB at 5:09 p.m. and deployed the life raft, tying the painter to the vessel. A helicopter crew from Air Station Cape Cod hoisted the fisheemen to safety around 7 p.m. The fire burned out after two days, and the Nobska was towed to New Bedford May 4, where investigators assessed the damage – determined to be a
EVK STYLE RUDDER SEAL SPLIT OR SOLID DESIGN
ST-100 WATER SOLUBLE NON-SHEENING EAL
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total loss of $2.4 million. The NTSB concluded “the second fire resulted in extensive damage throughout the vessel and was likely the result of another hydraulic hose leak, when atomized fluid contacted a hot surface, most likely the exposed main engine exhaust pipe, and flashed into a fire.” The report names the probable cause as a “failure of a hydraulic hose within the engine room that allowed hydraulic fluid to spray onto a hot surface, likely the exposed main engine exhaust pipe. Contributing to the failure of the hydraulic hose was possible heat damage from a fire that occurred earlier in the day. “The pipe/hose tunnel on board the Nobska, which extended from the engine room up two decks to the wheelhouse, did not have any insulation, pipe/cable fire stops, or other barriers to prevent the passage of smoke, heat, and fire – known as structural fire protection,” the report said. “This type of unprotected vertical tunnel has the potential to provide a pathway for fires to spread quickly outside of the space of origination.Vessel owners and operators should identify such openings between decks and ensure they are structurally fire protected to prevent the spread of a fire.”
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