Fire on Board the Liberian Passenger Ship Ecstasy, Miami, Florida ...
Fire on Board the Liberian Passenger Ship Ecstasy, Miami, Florida ...
Fire on Board the Liberian Passenger Ship Ecstasy, Miami, Florida ...
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Factual Informati<strong>on</strong> 28 Marine Accident Reportthat are capable of manual operati<strong>on</strong> from both sides of <strong>the</strong> bulkhead or deck. 24 Onlydampers that pass through spaces surrounded by A-class divisi<strong>on</strong>s without serving thosespaces and that have <strong>the</strong> same fire integrity as <strong>the</strong> divisi<strong>on</strong>s that <strong>the</strong>y pierce are excludedfrom this requirement.SOLAS regulati<strong>on</strong>s do not include main laundries as a space in which <strong>the</strong>ventilati<strong>on</strong> ducts must be equipped with automatic fire dampers. On <strong>the</strong> <strong>Ecstasy</strong>, <strong>the</strong> firedampers in <strong>the</strong> main laundry ducts were manually operated under normal c<strong>on</strong>diti<strong>on</strong>s. If <strong>the</strong>ventilati<strong>on</strong> system suffered an electrical loss, <strong>the</strong> dampers would pneumatically shut.All ventilati<strong>on</strong> systems <strong>on</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>Ecstasy</strong> are equipped with fire dampers that closewhen ventilati<strong>on</strong> is secured. During postaccident repairs, technicians verified that all firedampers had functi<strong>on</strong>ed and closed when ventilati<strong>on</strong> was secured from <strong>the</strong> bridge during<strong>the</strong> fire.As menti<strong>on</strong>ed earlier, air exhaust from <strong>the</strong> laundry ventilati<strong>on</strong> system exited <strong>on</strong> <strong>the</strong>mooring deck. Intake vents <strong>on</strong> <strong>the</strong> port side of <strong>the</strong> mooring deck supplied fresh air to <strong>the</strong>stern thruster room, which was <strong>on</strong> deck No. 1, immediately below <strong>the</strong> main laundry.A vertical vent duct inside <strong>the</strong> plenum penetrated decks No. 4 and 3 and <strong>the</strong>n ranforward/outboard above <strong>the</strong> potable water tanks. Once <strong>on</strong> deck No. 2, <strong>the</strong> duct ran forwardand inboard to supply <strong>the</strong> thruster room.The supply intakes for <strong>the</strong> ship’s air c<strong>on</strong>diti<strong>on</strong>ing system are <strong>on</strong> <strong>the</strong> ship’s transom(stern), two decks above <strong>the</strong> aft mooring deck. These ducts run forward between decksNo. 6 and 7, and pass down through deck No. 5 and al<strong>on</strong>g <strong>the</strong> exposed overhead of <strong>the</strong>mooring deck before entering <strong>the</strong> air handling room <strong>on</strong> deck No. 4.Vessel Certificati<strong>on</strong> and Inspecti<strong>on</strong>sGeneral. The certificati<strong>on</strong> of a ship and its associated safety equipment andmachinery is <strong>the</strong> resp<strong>on</strong>sibility of <strong>the</strong> “flag state,” or <strong>the</strong> country in which <strong>the</strong> vessel isregistered. Liberia, <strong>the</strong> <strong>Ecstasy</strong>’s “flag state” at <strong>the</strong> time of <strong>the</strong> accident, is a signatorynati<strong>on</strong> to SOLAS 74. Like most signatory nati<strong>on</strong>s, Liberia has incorporated SOLASrequirements into its nati<strong>on</strong>al regulati<strong>on</strong>s. SOLAS requires that vessels meet <strong>the</strong>requirements of a recognized classificati<strong>on</strong> society or equivalent. 25 Liberia delegatedcertificati<strong>on</strong> inspecti<strong>on</strong> authority to LR to ensure that <strong>the</strong> <strong>Ecstasy</strong> met its nati<strong>on</strong>al statutoryrequirements.SOLAS regulati<strong>on</strong>s and classificati<strong>on</strong> society rules are intended to becomplementary and n<strong>on</strong>duplicative. SOLAS provides detailed guidance <strong>on</strong> marineenvir<strong>on</strong>ment protecti<strong>on</strong> items, safety items such as structural fire protecti<strong>on</strong>, subdivisi<strong>on</strong>,24 SOLAS Regulati<strong>on</strong> II-2/32.1 refers to <strong>the</strong> applicati<strong>on</strong> of Regulati<strong>on</strong> II-2/16; Regulati<strong>on</strong> II-2/32applies to ships carrying more than 36 passengers and Regulati<strong>on</strong> 16 in its entirety does not.25Regulati<strong>on</strong> 3-1, Part A-1, Chapter II-1 of SOLAS 74, which entered into force in July 1998, statesthat, in additi<strong>on</strong> to meeting applicable SOLAS requirements, ships shall be designed, c<strong>on</strong>structed, andmaintained in compliance with a classificati<strong>on</strong> society’s structural, mechanical, and electrical requirements.