Area of fire hazards:

The accommodation area of the ship is vulnerable to fire as it comprises substance

such as wood, cardboard, and other personal fire-sensitive things used by
the ship's crew onboard. A ship accommodation is an area where the crew member's
cabin is located along with galley, recreational room, meeting room etc.

Out of all the causes for accidents and casualties onboard a ship, fire remains at the top
of the lists. In the past, even a simple accident of fire has resulted into sinking or
grounding of the ship. In this article we bring you the dos and don’ts to avoid fire in the
ship’s accommodation area.

It is noted that the maximum number fires on ships initiates in the ship’s accommodation
area due to negligence of the ship’s staff. The accommodation area of the ship is
vulnerable to fire as it comprises substance such as wood, cardboard, and other
personal fire-sensitive things used by the ship’s crew onboard.

Fire risks in cargo areas

Fire onboard becomes a more challenging emergency dependent on the
location of ignition. Ships are used to transport various types of cargoes
which are distributed wisely in the various cargo areas according to a cargo
plan as prepared by the officer in charge. It is not an easy task to deal with a
fire in the cargo hold, or any area of the ship for that matter, and surely any
fire situation onboard a ship needs to be taken seriously. Normally all
precautions are taken to ensure that inflammable cargoes are kept in
isolated conditions.
MARITIME KNOWLEDGE | 23/09/19
Taking into consideration that cargo vessels have similar Accommodation and Engine
room spaces, the difference of approaching a fire incident is in line with the differences
in cargo spaces. Additionally, other types of cargo ships, like Ro-Ro have a totally
different approach for fire in cargo areas. Another category which is totally different is
the passenger vessel category.
Fire risks in accommodation areas
1. Class A - Ordinary combustible materials such as wood, cloth, paper or other
materials included in accommodation spaces
2. Class F or K - Fires involve burning cooking oil, fat or grease or other galley or
kitchen materials

Fire risks in engine room spaces

1. Class B - Involve flammable and combustible liquids and gases such as gasoline,
oil, lacquers, paints, mineral spirits, and alcohols
2. Class C - Fires involving energized electrical equipment
3. Class D - fires involve combustible materials such as aluminum, magnesium,
titanium, zirconium, sodium, and potassium

It is worth noticing that the classification of fire in accommodation spaces and engine
room spaces is similar to all ship types; therefore, it is more feasible to focus on these
fire classes and plan the response in case of emergency accordingly. The risk becomes
higher when there are cargo spaces because different cargoes hide different risks and
dangers onboard same ship types, making the response to a fire more challenging.

Different cargoes hide different risks:

-Bulk carriers / General cargo vessels (dry cargo)
The risks of Class A are the majority among fire risks for such type of vessels. The pre-
planned response with fixed systems (usually CO2) is the most effective method to
respond to a cargo hold fire. Other types of cargo (eg wooden materials) stored on deck
will require the deployment of fire teams with fire hoses in order to respond to the fire.
-Oil tankers (Liquid cargo)
The main risk lies to the nature of cargo which may start a fire in class B. In these types
of vessels the CO2 batteries are used for engine room spaces while cargo spaces are
covered with foam extinguishing systems, as foam is the most suitable applicator to
fight class B fires.
-Chemical tankers
These are almost same with oil tankers but the fire risk in cargo nature is not only due to
liquid formation (class B fires) but also to extended air gases created by the nature of
cargo. On such types of vessels the most important fire fighting step against cargo fires
is the pre fire operations of isolating cargo systems (eg inert gas). However in case of
fire the most suitable applicator to respond is foam.

-LNG carriers
LNG cannot burn in liquid but it can be easily vaporized and the vapors of such fuel are
extremely flammable. So again the first important step is to isolate vapors from
flammable conditions (using inert gas). When a fire starts in LNG cargo spaces, the
most suitable applicator is dry powder from fixed positions. Such types of fire are very
dangerous as the vapor from LNG, apart from flammable, can also lead to explosions
when restricted in confined spaces.

 -Container vessels
One of the most difficult types of vessel is to respond to a fire in cargo spaces.
Practically, class A is of high risk, but considering the nature of cargoes included in
containers, class D fires cannot be excluded either. Additionally, some cargoes may be
subject to evaporation and produce fires similar to class B fires. For areas and
compartments below main deck, CO2 and water based fixed systems are assigned to
respond to fires. However, open deck stored containers are very difficult to be subject to
fixed systems and so the deployment of fire teams is essential. Mobile water monitors
used by teams are the main equipment of fighting such fires.

-Ro-Ro cargo vessels

This type of vessels is assigned to carry vehicles in large garage cargo areas. The most
common fire risk is class A fire and class B (from fuel carried in vehicles’ tanks). In case
of loaded vehicles, the cargoes carried may create additional risks for fire on board. The
fixed fire system is (commonly water based) the most suitable solution for fire in cargo
spaces of such vessels. The important issue in such vessels is to maintain the isolation
between decks and cargo areas in order to prevent fire from spreading onboard.