Ship abandoned after fire, Escape – Coast of Latvia
On February 22, 2023 a fire broke out on board a Dutch container ship in the Gulf of Riga. During fire fighting efforts the ship’s power supply stopped, after which the crew evacuated the ship. The crew tried to fight the fire, but the power supply on board failed. The light was no longer on and the fire pump stopped. Without electricity, the fire could no longer be fought. The captain then evacuated the ship. The entire crew was picked up by a cargo ship that was already on its way to provide assistance.
Lessons after chimney fire on board due to thermal oil
During fire drills, crews must be properly trained in how to act in emergencies. For example, they need to learn which ventilation flaps are of the emergency generator. This is one of the lessons from ‘Ship abandoned after fire’, a shortend investigation about the fire on board of the Dutch container ship Escape near the coast of Latvia at February 22, 2023.
This fire on board and the subsequent evacuation is a serious shipping accident according to international criteria. That is why the Dutch Safety Board is obliged to investigate this fire. No one got injured due to this incident.
Emergency generator insufficiently ventilated
When boiling out the thermal oil system, the temperature has risen too high. With the water vapour released in the process, thermal oil ended up on the hot exhaust pipe of the main engine. This increases the risk of fire. The ventilation flaps of the emergency generator were closed. As a result, the emergency generator was insufficiently ventilated and became too hot. The emergency generator stopped and the ship's electricity supply failed.
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