Fire on Board the Liberian Passenger Ship Ecstasy, Miami, Florida ...

Factual Information 28 Marine Accident Reportthat are capable of manual operation from both sides of the bulkhead or deck. 24 Onlydampers that pass through spaces surrounded by A-class divisions without serving thosespaces and that have the same fire integrity as the divisions that they pierce are excludedfrom this requirement.SOLAS regulations do not include main laundries as a space in which theventilation ducts must be equipped with automatic fire dampers. On the Ecstasy, the firedampers in the main laundry ducts were manually operated under normal conditions. If theventilation system suffered an electrical loss, the dampers would pneumatically shut.All ventilation systems on the Ecstasy are equipped with fire dampers that closewhen ventilation is secured. During postaccident repairs, technicians verified that all firedampers had functioned and closed when ventilation was secured from the bridge duringthe fire.As mentioned earlier, air exhaust from the laundry ventilation system exited on themooring deck. Intake vents on the port side of the mooring deck supplied fresh air to thestern thruster room, which was on deck No. 1, immediately below the main laundry.A vertical vent duct inside the plenum penetrated decks No. 4 and 3 and then ranforward/outboard above the potable water tanks. Once on deck No. 2, the duct ran forwardand inboard to supply the thruster room.The supply intakes for the ship’s air conditioning system are on the ship’s transom(stern), two decks above the aft mooring deck. These ducts run forward between decksNo. 6 and 7, and pass down through deck No. 5 and along the exposed overhead of themooring deck before entering the air handling room on deck No. 4.Vessel Certification and InspectionsGeneral. The certification of a ship and its associated safety equipment andmachinery is the responsibility of the “flag state,” or the country in which the vessel isregistered. Liberia, the Ecstasy’s “flag state” at the time of the accident, is a signatorynation to SOLAS 74. Like most signatory nations, Liberia has incorporated SOLASrequirements into its national regulations. SOLAS requires that vessels meet therequirements of a recognized classification society or equivalent. 25 Liberia delegatedcertification inspection authority to LR to ensure that the Ecstasy met its national statutoryrequirements.SOLAS regulations and classification society rules are intended to becomplementary and nonduplicative. SOLAS provides detailed guidance on marineenvironment protection items, safety items such as structural fire protection, subdivision,24 SOLAS Regulation II-2/32.1 refers to the application of Regulation II-2/16; Regulation II-2/32applies to ships carrying more than 36 passengers and Regulation 16 in its entirety does not.25Regulation 3-1, Part A-1, Chapter II-1 of SOLAS 74, which entered into force in July 1998, statesthat, in addition to meeting applicable SOLAS requirements, ships shall be designed, constructed, andmaintained in compliance with a classification society’s structural, mechanical, and electrical requirements.