Fire on OSV highlights dangers of remote Southern Ocean operations, Australia says
An Australian accident report has emphasised the care needed to avoid serious consequences while operating ships in the remote Southern Ocean, according to TradeWinds.
The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) said crew fatigue and inappropriate watchkeeping practices contributed to an engine room blaze on the 145-loa dive support vessel MPV Everest (built 2017) on 5 April 2021.
The multipurpose ship, owned by Maritime Construction Services of Luxembourg, was chartered by the Australian Antarctic Division (AAD).
ATSB said the vessel was en route from Antarctica to Hobart with 37 crew and 72 AAD staff when the fire broke out in the port engine room.
The blaze was contained and eventually extinguished using the water mist fixed fire-extinguishing system after about two-and-a-half hours. No injuries or pollution were reported.
But most of the port engine room’s power generation and machinery was substantially damaged, leaving the $150m ship with just two of its six diesel generators operational.
Other factors contributing to the incident were technical faults, the characteristics of the ship’s integrated automation system, and the design of the vessel itself, the report reveals.
These all contributed to fuel oil overflowing into the engine room.
Investigators found that classification society Bureau Veritas had approved the ship’s fuel oil settling tank’s air vent pipe being positioned within the engine room’s exhaust ventilation casing.
AAD told ATSB that an independent review of its procurement process and vessel operating procedures had led to several areas of improvement.
