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

Factual Information 47 Marine Accident Reportby ATF fire specialists showed that the lint was ignited easily by a spark and burned forseveral seconds, leaving little residual material behind. The minimum heat flux for anignition was equal to 11.5 kW/m 2 .Other InformationExamination of the Imagination and the FantasyAfter the Ecstasy fire, Safety Board investigators examined the Imagination andthe Fantasy, two Fantasy line ships having the same basic arrangement as the Ecstasy.The mangles on the Imagination and the Fantasy differed from the mangle on theEcstasy. The Imagination’s mangle was built by the same company; however, the machinewas a later model, and its exhaust system was configured differently. The mangle in theFantasy’s main laundry was manufactured by a different companyThe main laundry ventilation system on the Imagination varies slightly from thaton the Ecstasy and the Fantasy. The plenum is divided into two sections: lower section foraccommodation exhaust and upper section for laundry exhaust. In addition, the dryers onthe Imagination had been fitted with a “centrifugal” filter. The air from the dryers isvented into this filter and then sent out the exhaust vent. According to the laundrymanager, the filter removes a large amount of lint and is cleaned about every 3 hours, orabout four times a day, during laundry operation. He stated that the filter does notcompletely remove lint from the air exhausted out on to the mooring deck.On the mooring deck, investigators removed the louvers on the exhaust plenumand observed lint accumulated in the plenum as well as the intake filters for the thrusterroom. They also noted that lint had collected on stored rope on the deck and on thespindled rope on the winches. Further examination revealed that the lint was forced downinto the fibers of the rope. According to shipboard officials, the mooring crew washeddown the deck about once a week.During inspections of the Fantasy, investigators noted that the centrifugal filterused on the Imagination was not yet in place on the Fantasy or on the Ecstasy. The mangleand the dryer had separate duct systems similar to the Ecstasy. The Fantasy had a largeamount of accumulated lint. According to the Fantasy’s chief engineer, the accessibleareas of the exhaust ducts and plenum are cleaned about every 20 days, and the ducts andplenum had been cleaned about 4 or 5 days before this inspection. Investigators observedseveral inches of accumulated lint in the dryer ducts and plenum. The mangle ductcontained about ½ of an inch of lint that was coated with a waxy or oily substance.On the mooring deck, the stored rope had accumulated large piles of lint.Investigators noted that the lint had become embedded into the rope fibers.