DSV IRON MAIDEN

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NTSB published investigation report into fire

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has released its Marine Accident Brief detailing a fire aboard the DSV 'Iron Maiden' that took place while the vessel was docked at Allied Shipyard in Larose, La., for repairs. The fire occurred just after 1 a.m. on April 16, 2020, with local firefighters extinguishing the flames by about 2:30 a.m. The NTSB estimated the damage to the vessel totaling more than $900,000. The ship had arrived at Allied Shipyard on March 31, 2020, for drydock inspections and upgrades. While waiting for the shipyard’s drydock to become available, a marine chemist inspected the vessel’s tanks and voids to ensure they were safe for workers and hot work.On April 15 the vessel was shifted to a new berth and reconnected to shore power. At 8 a.m.shipyard workers boarded the vessel and began working with acetylene torches on the starboard exhaust trunk and on the forecastle deck adjacent to the starboard side mooring bitt. In its report, the NTSB noted that those work areas were directly above the generator room on the main deck. The No. 1 generator, in particular, which was directly under the starboard exhaust fan, had a fire cloth over it. According to the report, shipyard workers encountered thin metal around the stack trunk, which caused blow-through down to the generator room. A foreman checked the generator room that morning and found no indication of smoke or fire. At about the same time, contractors were cleaning the vessel’s sewage tank, which was directly below the generator room, so it too could be certified for hot work. Around 10 a.m., shipyard workers in the generator room removed woodwork at the base of the forward bulkhead and discovered wastage (a hole) in the deck, which exposed them to the vessel’s sewage tank directly below. The workers were told at that time, about 2 p.m., to vacate the generator room so the cleaning crew could finish in the sewage tank. The NTSB noted that shipyard personnel finished work and left the vessel about 4:30 p.m., with the vessel’s company representative disembarking about an hour later. Two vessel crew members left the Iron Maiden about 6 p.m. The vessel remained connected to shore power. A bridge tender called the Lafourche Parish Fire District at 1:10 a.m. April 16 to report smoke and flames from the vessel. Fire fighters were on the scene just eight minutes later and discovered a fire extending from the main deck up to the pilothouse. The fire was extinguished by 2:30 a.m., although shipyard personnel found and extinguished a smoldering area behind a fuel tank on the starboard side of the generator room later that morning. Lafourche Parish Fire District investigators later determined, The fire started in the generator room on the wall area common to the mess area. They were unable to determine a cause of the fire, although they could not rule out an electrical short as the source. The NTSB noted that hot work on the starboard exhaust trunk was completed at 9 a.m. April 15, with work in that vicinity and the generator room continuing the rest of the day. No flame or smoke was observed. Furthermore, vessel personnel were on board until 6 p.m., with no reports of flames or smoke. Thus, the NTSB determined the fire was not related to the hot work done on the vessel earlier in the day. The NTSB noted the most likely explanation was an electrical short near the panel at the forward bulkhead in the generator room. And with no one on board the vessel, and with the 'Iron Maiden'’s fire detection system secured to prevent false alarms during shipyard work, the fire was able to spread undetected.

Offshore ship saved distressed boaties

The "Joseph Bisso" aling with the US Coast Guard rescued five people about 18 miles offshore of Empire, La., on Oct 17, 2015. Watchstanders at Coast Guard Sector New Orleans received a report of a 20-foot recreational boat taking on water at 9:45 a.m. Watchstanders directed the launch of an MH-65 Dolphin helicopter crew from Coast Guard Air Station New Orleans and a 45-foot resonse boat crew from the Coast Guard Station Grand Isle. The people onboard the recreational boat had been transferred to the "Joseph Bisso", before the Coast Guard crews arrived. The mariners were then transferred to the response boat from Station Grand Isle, which put the recreational boat in tow for transit back to Grand Isle. Report with photos: http://www.uscgnews.com/go/doc/4007/2613014/