Two fire desasters on ships - X-Press Pearl in Sri Lanka and Iranian navy ship Kharg

Uwek

Administrator
Staff member
Administrator
Forum Moderator
Joined
Dec 25, 2017
Messages
30,718
Points
1,238

Location
Vienna, Austria
The container ship X-Press Pearl (only three months old) carrying chemicals
that has burned for 13 straight days off Sri Lanka is now sinking, and could create a devastating oil spill.


The Singapore-flagged ship which started burning on May 20, has already spilled chemicals and microplastics, killing sea life.

X-Press-Pearl-June-1-Sri-Lanka-Ports-Authority-5.jpg X-Press-Pearl-June-1-Sri-Lanka-Ports-Authority-3.jpg

210531225119-01-sri-lanka-ship-clean-up-0528-exlarge-169.jpg 210531225326-02-sri-lanka-ship-clean-up-0528-exlarge-169.jpg






Iran’s largest navy ship Kharg sinks in Gulf of Oman after catching fire​

Iran’s army confirmed crew safely evacuated after vessel caught fire under unclear circumstances.

One of Iran’s largest navy ships has sunk after catching fire near the Strait of Hormuz under unclear circumstances.

The Kharg, named after an island nearby that serves as a key oil terminal, caught fire in the early hours of Wednesday local time and more than 20 hours of rescue operations failed to save it, the army said.
Iran’s army also identified the Kharg as a “training ship” and confirmed there were almost 400 crew and trainees on board, before adding all of them were safely evacuated.

57755324_303.jpg
The vessel sank close to the port of Jask in the south of the country, near the Strait of Hormuz, a strategic waterway [Handout via EPA]

56e05f31-a07c-496a-9b44-bb8eb736a316_16x9_1200x676.jpg


Positiv news are the fact, that all seamen on both ships were rescued in time
 
Fire extinguishing on ships is associated with great difficulty in assessing the situation, considerable consumption of extinguishing agents, involvement of a large number of forces and means of fire protection and fleet services with a complex layout, saturation and variety of fire load, lack of safe escape routes, etc. and is held in conditions of insufficient natural light, dense smoke, high temperature, the thermal conductivity of ship structures at high rate of spread of combustion along corridors, ramp shafts and ventilation I'm currently taking a training for firefighters, that's why I'm so familiar with it. I really want to become a firefighter to save other people's lives.
 
Fire extinguishing on ships is associated with great difficulty in assessing the situation, considerable consumption of extinguishing agents, involvement of a large number of forces and means of fire protection and fleet services with a complex layout, saturation and variety of fire load, lack of safe escape routes, etc. and is held in conditions of insufficient natural light, dense smoke, high temperature, the thermal conductivity of ship structures at high rate of spread of combustion along corridors, ramp shafts and ventilation I'm currently taking a training for firefighters, that's why I'm so familiar with it. I really want to become a firefighter to save other people's lives.
When I went through basic training in San Diego 1963 our fire fighting training was still in the mode of compartments with flaming fuel oil, heavy dense black smoke and as RCP (recruit chief petty officer) I was first in with the hose spraying high and low as the others followed me in to do what we could to put it out. Only our cotton handkerchiefs over our noses were used and I was blowing out black mucus for days. Not the present day waiving of silly orange rags on sticks and no actual smoke that makes visibility almost impossible and kills. I never will forget that day of actual hands on after the morning lectures, movies, and simulations. Only once had a fire aboard a carrier and not personally involved except for some of the smoke and fumes that went through the part of the ship where I worked. Best of luck with your fire training as it is critical aboard, and potentially only less hazardous than fire in the air. Rich (PT-2)
 
When I went through basic training in San Diego 1963 our fire fighting training was still in the mode of compartments with flaming fuel oil, heavy dense black smoke and as RCP (recruit chief petty officer) I was first in with the hose spraying high and low as the others followed me in to do what we could to put it out. Only our cotton handkerchiefs over our noses were used and I was blowing out black mucus for days. Not the present day waiving of silly orange rags on sticks and no actual smoke that makes visibility almost impossible and kills. I never will forget that day of actual hands on after the morning lectures, movies, and simulations. Only once had a fire aboard a carrier and not personally involved except for some of the smoke and fumes that went through the part of the ship where I worked. Best of luck with your fire training as it is critical aboard, and potentially only less hazardous than fire in the air. Rich (PT-2)
Remembering the USS Oriskany....
 
Remembering the USS Oriskany....
Yes. . . we called her the Big Risk! As I recall it would have been my requested transfer to remain in th combat zone but luckily my need to finish my architecture degree too precedence. There were a lot of lives lost there and my bunk if as on the Ranger would have been directly beneath the explosions and fires. Rich
 
My Brother, Dave, was a seaman who was tasked with carrying the bodies of crew members from the ship at Subic Bay. He said it was bad. ( I was stationed in Northern Japan at the time)
 
As an engineer in the British Merchant Navy, we had serious fire fighting training on shore, breathing apparatus, ship section fires, rescuing casualties. You had to complete a course before going to sea, and before taking any professional qualifications. At sea we had fire drills at least every ten days, and less if we had any crew change. It was all taken very seriously - the company I worked for last was running round the world trips to remote areas, where outside assistance was extremely unlikely - we where quite literally on our own. A major factor was the limited manpower - unlike Armed Services vessels, Merchantile ships operate with as few crew as possible, so If a fire broke out - rapid response with the minimum of crew was vital, and training vital, so reactions were automatic!. All this cost a lot of money - hence the disappearance of British Ships from the oceans, with all their qualified & trained crew.
( the last company I worked for had 35 ships when I joined, 17, when I left! - ill health )
Dave
 
Back
Top