Summer 2012 issue no. 88 www.hemmingfire.com

INDUSTRIALFIRE JOURNAL

24 26 September 2012, Dubai, U.A.E.

3RD ANNUAL MIDDLE EAST FIRESAFE

DO WE NEED A NEW EXIT STRATEGY?Only 38% of people see exit signs during an evacuation

FIRE FIGHTING OUTSIDE THE BOXYang Ming Green case study: dealing with container fires at sea

FOAM DISCHARGE OBLIGATIONSEU Daughter Directive focusses on non-hazardous pollutants

SETTING THE GREEN AGENDACoalition for Responsible Fire Protection in the spotlight

T H E W O R L D S L E A D I N G V O I C E F O R T H E I N D U S T R I A L H I G H - R I S K F I R E I N D U S T R Y

34 INDUSTRIAL FIRE JOURNAL SUMMER 2012 Read our e-magazine at www.hemmingfire.com

he container ship Yang Ming Green was located in theStrait of Malacca, near Singapore (August 8, 2006),when Johan Luijks, now the owner of Offmain 24/7

Response, based in the Netherlands, received a phone callfrom a large carrier. At that time Johan was a member of thethen-called Risk Emergency Response Team (Falk Risk,Netherlands), which is always on call to respond to majormaritime fires and incidents that occur internationally. A firein the hold had been reported, and the firefighting crew hadreleased CO2 to extinguish the fire. Crew members said thatthey thought that the fire had been extinguished, butexperts from Smit Salvage (a major salvage company) knewthis couldnt be the case, as it is impossible to extinguish asmouldering container fire with CO2.

Although CO2 suppresses oxygen, it never brings thelevels down low enough to extinguish a smouldering fire in acontainer. CO2 brings the oxygen level down to around 10%,whereas a smouldering fire requires a decrease in oxygen ofaround 2 to 3% to be extinguished, he commented.

Johan and the salvage team were deployed to Singapore,where he and his colleague Gert-Jan Langerak immediatelycarried out an assessment of the hold, where severalthousands containers were stacked at least six stories high.They asked the crew if they had been down to check thehold. The crew confirmed affirmative. However, when theyopened the manholes that delivered access, the heat hadbuilt up to such a high temperature that large volumes ofsmoke and steam were released. Johan and Gert-Jan quicklyconcluded that the crew hadnt been anywhere near the hold,because they had been too daunted by what was actuallyoccurring under deck.

Before we could do anything else we had to ventilate thehold for several hours, so the temperature and combustiongases would decrease. After we succeeded to do so, we puton our BA and descended through the thermal layer wherethe ambient temperature was much cooler.

We had to check all the containers by using thermalimaging cameras and gas detectors. The problem in the holdis that you can only access it via a set of manholes, andtherefore you can only approach the containers via gangwaysfrom one side because they are stored very close together. Inorder to get to the other gangway, you have to enter viaanother manhole this is a time consuming process. Wechecked every unit with the gas detector by inserting thedetector via the seals, because we are not allowed forinsurance reasons to open them.

After checking every single unit we found that the seat ofthe fire was located in an exploded container that storedbatteries which had detonated. The steel frame had meltedand there was nothing left of the original framework,explained Johan.

The next thing on their list was to check all surroundingcontainers for signs of fire, which had indeed spread toaround 20-30 of the surrounding units. Subsequently, theydecided to place a large barge next to the ship, to which allburning units were transferred with a crane a process thattook weeks. During that time, the remaining affectedcontainers in the hold had to be monitored and cooled

T

FIRE INTHE HOLD

CONTAINER FIRES ARE AMONGST THE MOSTDIFFICULT TO EXTINGUISH, SO WHEN JOHAN LUIJKSRESPONDED TO AN INCIDENT ON THE YANG MING

GREEN, HE HAD TO THINK OUTSIDE THE BOX,WRITES ANN-MARIE KNEGT.

The Cobra was usedto suppress the

smouldering fires inthe containers on

board the YangMing Green.

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JOHAN LUIJKSJohan Luijks is the head of Offmain 24/7 Response, acompany that delivers emergency response servicesto all key players in the salvage and offshore industry.His team consists of experienced firefighters, fireteam leaders, hazmat specialists, marine chemistsand a marine ecologist.

constantly to avoid fire spread, because they were facing the majorrisk of the whole hold going up in flames.

The other problem we faced that we were not allowed to openanything with a cutting tool and just put a hose in and dowse thecontents with water. We have to consult with the insurers and thatprocess can take weeks. Instead, we attacked every container thatwas affected with the Cobras manufactured by Cold Cut Systems(Sweden), once they had been placed on the barge.

This cutting extinguishing system consists of a mixture of water andcutting agent (abrasive) being ejected through a special nozzle athigh pressure (>250 bar). A fine water mist is then released into thecompartment, which helps suppress the fire by cooling it andcreating an inert space. This was the first time the Cobra had beenused to suppress and manage a container fire onboard a ship, afterSmit Salvage had purchased two units earlier that year, based onJohan and Gert-Jans recommendations.

Johan successfully managed to lower the temperature anddecrease the combustion gases with the Cobra, after which the teamfinished the job off by cutting the containers open and putting a hoseline in to dowse the smouldering contents in water. Johan added thatby that time they were so damaged that they couldnt be opened inany other way.

In the past the team had trained with the Cobra on several differenttypes of fires, ranging from structural fire to smouldering fires incontainers, and therefore Johan and Gert-Jan were familiar with thecapabilities of the equipment.

The Cobra has many different applications onboard ships,including compartment firefighting. It is a fantastic tool and anextremely useful addition to our arsenal of firefighting equipment,Johan concluded.

Read our e-magazine at www.hemmingfire.com SUMMER 2012 INDUSTRIAL FIRE JOURNAL 37