…Fire-Stricken Yantian Express Heads for Freeport, Bahamas***
The Australia-flagged cement carrier Goliath suffered water
ingress in its steering gear compartment off Tasmania in early March 2018
after requested valve closures were not actioned, a
report by Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) found.
The 15,539 dwt vessel encountered the issue while conducting
a planned ballast water exchange operation. At the time, the ship was underway
in the Bass Strait, sailing from Melbourne, Victoria to Devonport,
Tasmania.
During the operation, the ship’s third mate contacted the
duty IR and asked that the two after peak manually operated valves be closed.
For reasons that could not be determined, the requested valve closures were not
actioned.
The third mate did not confirm with the IR that the message
had been received and actioned so he was unaware that the valves connecting the
after peak tank to the starboard ballast main had not been closed. This
led to undetected filling of the after peak tank during subsequent ballasting
operations.
The ATSB report showed that the after peak tank filled to a
level sufficient for water to leak into the holed scupper line within the tank
and drain into the steering gear room bilge well. This overflowed and flooded
the steering gear room.
There was no structured or formalised system of logging or
tracking the status of ballast system manually operated valves. Thus, when
closure of the after peak valves was not actioned or confirmed, there was no
record at the ballast control panel to show the status of the valves, ATSB
added.
Shortly thereafter, an engine room alarm activated and
the first engineer responded. The first engineer discovered water coming from a
scupper pipe in the steering gear room, which drained into the steering flat
bilge well. Investigations then found water coming up the drain in the CO2 room
due to a holed scupper pipe running through the after peak tank.
The tank was rarely filled to a depth which covered the
holed section of pipe. However, when the starboard ballast tank was pressed up
to overflowing, the open valves to the after peak tank allowed it to also fill.
As the tank neared full, water covered the hole in the pipe, drained into the
steering gear room bilge well and overflowed.
A condition of class was placed on the ship until suitable
repairs had been completed. In the meantime, any ballasting was to be completed
with additional monitoring of this area of the ship and tank levels.
Procedures were amended to require the duty officer to keep
a log of all manual valve operations and ballasting of the after peak tank was
to be conducted only during daylight hours. In addition, a status tracking
board was made for the manual valves with moveable pegs to be used to show the
status of each valve.
Initial repairs involving renewal of the CO2 room drain line
(about 7.5 m), deck and bulkhead penetrations were completed on March 10. Final
repairs, survey and testing were completed on March 18 and the condition of
class was lifted.
As a result of this occurrence, CSL Australia has advised
the ATSB that further to the immediate actions referred to earlier, the
following safety actions have also been taken.
In the meantime, the fire-stricken containership Yantian
Express will head for the Port of Freeport, Bahamas, Hapag-Lloyd, owner of
the vessel said, citing the decision from salvage master from Smit.
“Once there, the recovery and assessment efforts of the
cargo can proceed in a safer environment.
At present, the containership is approximately 1,250
nautical miles from the Bahamas and is expected to arrive in Freeport by next
week. The Yantian Express currently sails with its own machine and in tug
escort,” the company added.
“It is still not possible to make a precise estimate of any
damage to the Yantian Express or its cargo. Hapag-Lloyd is working in close
cooperation with all relevant authorities.”
The fire broke out in one of the containers on the ship’s deck on January 3, while the 7,510 TEU boxship was on its way from Colombo to Halifax, spreading to additional containers. The ship’s crew was evacuated after the fire aboard the vessel increased in intensity.
Based on the latest update from the German liner, the fire
has been widely contained. Five of the ship’s crew members have returned
to the stricken ship.
“The remaining salvage operations have made considerable progress,” according to Hapag-Lloyd.
World Maritime News
