MPV EVEREST

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ATSB report into fire published

Technical faults along with inappropriate watchkeeping practices contributed to the scale of a fire which erupted onboard the 'MPV Everest' on April 5, 2021, a report of the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) has found. The Antarctic supply ship was en route from Antarctica to Hobart with hundreds of staff onboard when the fire broke out in the port side engine room. Although the fire was contained after two hours, flames were seen shooting up through a vent on the deck. There were no injuries, but most of the port engine room's power generation and machinery was damaged, leaving the ship with just two of its six diesel generators operational. The ATSB has been investigating the fire for the past two years and released its final report on Nov 24, 2023. The report found the accident was impacted by a number of factors including characteristics of the ship's integrated automation system, crew fatigue, and the design of the ship itself. The fire started after fuel oil overflowed into the engine room and came into contact with a hot surface or an electrostatic discharge. The report found the ship's 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. While this air pipe was not designed for the egress of fuel, this incident demonstrated that it was a possibility, and international regulations specified that air pipes for fuel oil tanks must discharge to a safe position on the open deck. Bureau Veritas' design approval processes had not identified any potential risks with the positioning of this air pipe in the engine room ventilation casing and consequently, had approved the design, which contributed to the overflowing fuel entering the engine room. Seven other safety issues were also found in the report, however they did not directly contribute to the fire itself. Among these issues, the ATSB found that MPV Everest's managers, Fox Offshore, had not ensured the ship was adequately manned, equipped or prepared for the hazards and challenges of operations in the Southern Ocean and Antarctica. The ship's safety management system was neither sufficiently mature for its operations, nor had it been effectively implemented on board. Following an independent review, the Australian Antarctic Division said changes had led to several areas of process improvements. Report with photos: https://www.9news.com.au/national/antarctic-supply-ship-mpv-everest-australian-transport-safety-bureau-hands-down-findings-into-ship-fire/973375d3-2222-4aee-9124-5bc66830204d

Preliminary investigation report published

A preliminary report into the fire that badly damaged the 'MPV Everest' has found that fuel oil was seen dripping into the engine room after the blaze. The port side engine room burst into flames on April 5 in the Southern Ocean. It limped into Fremantle on April 13 on auxiliary power with 70 expeditioners and 37 crew on board. The Australian Transport and Safety Bureau report, released on May 19, noted that during initial inspections after the fire, crew members observed fuel oil dripping into the engine room from the exhaust vent casing above. Data from the ship's integrated automation system showed a routine transfer to top up the fuel oil settling tank in the engine room started about 9.25 a.m. That data indicated the tank probably overflowed sometime after 10.30 a.m. The fire, which destroyed two inflatable boats, was first spotted around 11 a.m. by the ship's master, who saw large flames erupting from open louvres in the engine room's exhaust casing. The ATSB is investigating the operation of the ship's fuel oil transfer system as part of the ongoing probe into the cause of the fire. The performance of the ship's firefighting equipment, effectiveness of emergency response and efficacy of shipboard communication systems is also being investigated. A final report will be released when the investigation is finished. The ship left Fremantle again on May 3 enroute to Singapore.

Damaged icebreaker limped into Fremantle

The 'MPV Everest' has finally arrived in Fremantle on April 13. She was about five days into an expected two-week voyage when a fire broke out in the port engine room, destroying two inflatable rubber boats stored on deck. None of the 109 people onboard — which included about 70 expeditioners — were injured. The icebreaker, which had been in the Southern Ocean when the fire broke out, was able to continue travelling north using its starboard engine room. The vessel was originally set to dock in Hobart but was diverted to Fremantle which was closer. Report with photo: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-04-13/antarctic-supply-ship-mpv-everest-limps-into-wa-port-after-fire/100066802