Marine Firefighting Inc.

 

Newsletter # 35
Please do not reprint in any form without the permission of the author.

Marine Firefighting and Pollution

By Tom Guldner - Marine Firefighting Inc.

I have written many articles dealing with marine fires, and de-watering on ships and workboats of all sizes. In this article, I have been asked to address the problem of marine pollution as it relates to a marine fire.

The international Salvage industry has been involved in both marine firefighting and salvage for many years. In the distant past the pollution aspect of a fire/salvage operation was not as big of a concern as it is today. We have all seen news photos and videos of oil soaked beaches and sea birds. Because of some of the horrific oil spill incidents of the past, such as the Exxon Valdiez, governments have enacted much stricter regulations regarding any form of marine pollution.

Copious amounts of water and firefighting chemicals are often needed to bring these ship fires under control. If all this water remains aboard the ship it can result in some serious consequences.

A crucial aspect of marine firefighting is vessel stability. If we extinguish the fire, but sink the ship in the process, the vessel owner and the environment will be severely impacted. In the past, the firefighting water that might be creating the stability issues was merely pumped overboard along with the firefighting chemicals as well as all the other pollutants which may have mixed into the water after application. (Photo left)

When I teach marine firefighting to mariners or Land-Based Firefighters I stress the need to keep the vessel stable. De-watering pumps must be considered as soon as you start applying firefighting water. (See photo right)

In today's world, the indiscriminate dumping of firefighting water is frowned upon and many times illegal. Salvage companies and municipal marine firefighters must now figure some other way of dealing with this oily mixture.

On larger ships, if the water cannot be pumped off the vessel, in my training I suggest that it might be pumped to the lowest part of that vessel. The weight of the water is much more detrimental the higher it is located. In fact, the lower weight may actually aid the vessels stability; up to a limited amount! (For more detailed information regarding vessel stability issues see Newsletter 6.)

Oil booms are used in many cases during ship fires. Salvage companies will immediately ring a vessel with these booms. In calmer seas, they may contain any spilled or leaked liquids around the vessel until clean up procedures can be employed to remove the pollutants.

Another method of de-watering, if the vessel is in a port, or near shore, is to have a tank barge located next to the vessel on fire and then have firefighting water pumped into the barge where it can later be treated ashore.

There are also liquid bladders which may be used to hold the polluted firefighting water and then the bladder can be towed to shore. (Canflex USA Inc. "Sea Slug photo right)

They were originally designed for use at the scene of oil spills. The oil could be skimmed up and then pumped into the bladder. The bladder would then be towed to a location where it could either be pumped ashore for treatment or pumped aboard a tank vessel which will bring the oil to a land-based facility.

One of the rules dealing with marine pollution in the USA which came about because of the Exxon Valdez spill is the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA 90). It requires most ships visiting US ports to have a firefighting and an oil response plan. Most of these ships comply by entering into contracts with verified Firefighting, Salvage, and Oil Spill Cleanup companies who will help writing the vessels fire and cleanup plan and then provide the response service. These companies must demonstrate their ability to respond to and control a fire or emergency on that vessel in a timely manner.

Internationally the International Maritime Organization (IMO) has written requirements for fire safety and pollution. Their Safety of Life At Sea (SOLAS) regulations address many marine fire and salvage requirements while their MARPOL (MARine POLlution) regulations address pollution requirements.

The Marine Salvage community is aware of these new and existing regulations and have incorporated safeguards into their standard operating procedures. Workboat crews as should also be aware of the technology and procedures involved in protecting the environment during vessel fires because, with the newer External Firefighting equipped work boats, they may be involved in the incident also. Land-Based Shipboard firefighters should also be aware of these measures to assist in fighting marine fires and also protecting our environment,

Until next time. Stay safe out there

 

Why not let Marine Firefighting Inc. set up your own Marine Firefighting Training for firefighting on ships or boats of all sizes or our Liquefied Natural Gas for First Responders training. We can design a program to meet your Fire Department or Marine Company's needs.

Tom Guldner is a retired Lieutenant of the New York City Fire Department's Marine Division. Tom held a US Coast Guard License as a Ships Master and is certified as a Fire instructor both within New York State and Nationally in the USA.

He is currently a participating member of the Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers (SNAME) Fishing Vessel Operations and Safety panel and their Small Working Vessel Operations and Safety panel.

Tom is also a Principal Member of the NFPA Technical Committee on Merchant Vessels and is certified by the NFPA as completing training in "Responding to Gaseous Fueled Vehicle Incidents" (LNG)

His articles on Marine Firefighting have been published both nationally and internationally and he is a Contributing Editor to International Firefighter Magazine

Tom is certified by BNSF Railroad in "LNG Awareness and Emergency Response" and in "Railroad Emergency Response HazMat Awareness"

You can contact Tom at MarineFires@aol.com

Please leave you comments about this article (Good or Bad) in my Guest Book. Or give me your comments about any future topics you would like to see. If you prefer, you can e-mail me by clicking on the letter to the right. MarineFires@aol.com


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Why not have MFI deliver one of our Marine Firefighting training presentations at your next seminar, convention, or training session?

Don't forget that we can also consult with your Fire Department or Marine Company on setting up your own ongoing Marine Firefighting Training program, Port risk analysis or emergency scenario. E-mail us now!

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Previous Newsletters:

Newsletter # 1 "Marine Firefighting Training, Who needs it!"

Newsletter # 2 "Shipboard Basics"

Newsletter # 3 "Straight Stream Vs Fog Stream"

Newsletter #4 "Immigrants in Shipping Containers"

Newsletter #5 "Hazards of Refrigeration in the Shipping Industry"

Newsletter #6 "Stability at Shipboard Fires"

Newsletter #7 "2 in 2 out at Shipboard Fires"

Newsletter #8 "What Happened To the Air"

Newsletter #9 "What Else Can Fireboats Do - WTC Response"

Newsletter #10 "Port Security - Are We Missing the Boat"

Newsletter # 11 "Let the Coast Guard Handle It"

Newsletter # 12 "Marina Fires ... We've Gotcha Covered!"

Newsletter # 13 "Shipboard Security -- The shocking Truth"

Newsletter # 14 "Just Because It Hasn't Happened Yet!"

Newsletter # 15 "What's In Those Shipping Containers"

Newsletter # 16 "Some Problems at a Marina Fire"

Newsletter # 17 "Maneuvering Your Fireboat Near Large Ships"

Newsletter # 18 "Something New at Ship Fires - Auto Exposure

Newsletter # 19 Liquid Natural Gas (LNG)

Newsletter # 20 Use Caution at Tow Boat and Barge Fires

Newsletter # 21 Cruise Ships as Floating Hotels?

Newsletter # 22 Is Your Crew Ready for a Fire?

Newsletter # 23 Deep Fryers and Vessel Fires

Newsletter # 24 Fighting Ship Fires for the Army?

Newsletter # 25 I'm a Mariner; I Know All About Watertight Doors!

Newsletter # 26 How High's the Water Mama

Newsletter # 27 LNG Where You Least Expect It

Newsletter # 28 Not Another Drill!

Newsletter # 29 LNG for the First Responder

Newsletter # 30 Vessel Fire Plans

Newsletter # 31 Firefighters On Tow Boats and Barges

Newsletter # 32 Fireboat and Marina fire Training for the Harbormasters and fires Responders of Massachusetts

Newsletter # 33 Coming to a River Near You - Containers on Barges

Newsletter # 34 Maritime Terrorism On Ferries and the Land Based Firefighter