November 28, 2011
Congratulations to everyone. We survived another fall season of boat shows on both sides of the Atlantic. Our attention can now focus on the winter term.
Holiday charters? More broker showings for a potential sale? Back to the dock behind the house? The plans are as limitless as one’s mind.
But in all of the chaos of never-ending shows and the parties that accompany them, did anyone notice the increased number of catastrophic fires on board yachts? What is going on? Since May of this year, there have been several large yacht losses.
These have included a 34m Sunseeker at the dock in Poole, Dorset, UK; a 40m Westport off the coast of Sicily, Italy; a 27m Vitech at a marina in New York, USA; a 24m custom off the coast of South Carolina, USA; and a 38m Christensen in a shipyard at Malaysia.
We can all agree that no yacht is immune from accidents. While built for the pleasure of the owner and his/her guests, yachts remain a source of potential dangers.
In an effort to prevent these from happening, yachts are designed and built with certain systems. Structural fire protection, such as insulation and bulkheads, play a large part of that. Those items can be considered static measures.
In contrast, the equipment and systems that provide a dynamic response to fire situations involve a combination of detectors, alarms, fixed firefighting systems, portable units, and the crew itself.
The requirements for the type and number of firefighting systems are dictated by numerous factors. Will the yacht be private or commercial? How many people will she carry? Inland or international?
For internationally trading yachts, the regulations for firefighting systems are outlined in the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) Convention. From SOLAS, the actual design and specifications for each individual system are outlined in the International Code for Fire Safety Systems (FSS Code).
National regulations, such as the U.S. Code of Federal Regulations or the European Union Marine Equipment Directive, will further dictate equipment to be manufactured or used within a certain jurisdiction.
For yachts operating in the normal cruising grounds, it would be an exception to find unapproved or illegal fire safety equipment for purchase. However, the unapproved servicing of that equipment is quite common.
All too often during the course of flag-state inspections and surveys, our staff find fire safety equipment that was serviced by companies that are not certified to conduct such work. Now one may say, what’s the difference? An extinguisher on a yacht is the same as an extinguisher in a house.
This argument can be justified for certain items, such as a small dry chemical portable unit. But what happens when that same company is tasked with inspecting and servicing a halon, sprinkler, or FM-200 marine system? How about the pressure switches that are integrated with the electrical and ventilation systems? Are the systems being tested according to SOLAS, NFPA, or some other standard?
While a particular system may be similar to one found in an industrial setting, the particular use of that same system in the marine environment can be quite different. Thus the testing and serving of that equipment also changes.
Fire safety system contractors that are approved for the marine industry must meet a very high standard to receive that approval. This involves a combination of training, documented quality systems, experience, and regular audits of their service facility.
Because these recognized specialists play a critical role in the marine safety life cycle, there is tremendous external oversight. This is done by flag administrations, classification societies, and insurance companies.
As a flag-state investigator, if our organization were assigned to the type of incident as listed above, one of the first questions we ask would relate to the fire safety systems. When were they last serviced? And more important, who did the service? If an unapproved company was involved, our investigation path has begun.
While not part of our responsibilities on behalf of a flag-state, such an action would be very interesting to a yacht’s underwriter. It remains the owner’s responsibility, through his captain, to ensure that the contractors used to service fire safety equipment on board are certified and qualified for the task.
By using unauthorized personnel, an “unseaworthy” condition could be interpreted by the underwriter. And from there, the dots are very easy to connect for a “no cover” incident. No coverage equals no claim, which equals no money. This is not protecting the best interests of the owner and his assets.
So how do you confirm that a fire service company is approved? Ask them for a copy of their approval certificate. This will normally be issued by either a flag administration or a classification society. Simply being licensed by a state is not sufficient qualification.
If you require further verification of their approval, each classification society maintains a public access database on their respective Web sites.
Two minutes of questions can save months of heartache or worse. Practice your due diligence when having your fire safety systems serviced. This tedious task could be a lifesaver.
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