Safety Alert: Report on fatal fire on Grande Costa D’avorio in port – 2023

• overheated transmission fluid of a ‘pusher’ vehicle which boiled over and ignited on a hot engine surface
• the pusher vehicle was a passenger vehicle, and not suitable for use as a power industrial truck because it did not meet Occupational Safety and Health Administration, or OSHA, standards for a power industrial truck

• deploying CO2 into the fire protection zone that included the deck with the fire was appropriate, but the deck 12 hydraulic garage door lacked operating controls outside the fire protection zone, which prevented the crew from safely closing the door and led to the ineffectiveness of the CO2 to extinguish the fire
• directing firefighters to enter the area where the CO2 extinguishing system had been activated was contrary to general marine firefighting convention and exposed firefighters to additional and unnecessary risk it also allowed more carbon dioxide out and more oxygen in
• when ports work with local municipalities in advance to coordinate vessel firefighting response preparedness and training, safety is improved and better outcomes are achieved. The fire service was not adequately prepared to respond to a vessel fire and lacked marine vessel firefighting training therefore, their actions were ineffective and contributed to the fire’s spread and the vessel damage, and led to the firefighter casualties
• lack of an emergency procedure that contained a muster area or training in the event of an emergency on board a vessel increased the risk to life or injury to shoreside workers

• US Coast Guard to propose IMO clarification/emphasis that the existing SOLAS regulation requiring that all openings capable of admitting air into or of allowing gas to escape from a protected space can be closed from outside the protected space applies regardless of their expected operational condition when in port or at sea
• Occupational safety and health administrations to inform, educate and enforce powered industrial truck and emergency procedures requirements at marine terminals
• Fire service to require all chiefs and responding companies to complete specialised marine firefighting training (both classroom and practical) informed by recognised national standards
• Port authorities to facilitate training, drills and familiarisation tours for responding firefighters; communicate lessons from the incident to their personnel and develop policies for fire and emergencies on board vessels that include accounting for shoreside employees, and train employees on what to do in the event of a fire or emergency on board a vessel
• Certification providers to review/approval processes requiring that all openings capable of admitting air into or allowing gas to escape from a protected space can be closed from outside the protected space, regardless of their expected operational condition in port or at sea
• Vessel operator to inventory their vessels to identify all openings that are part of a fire boundary and modify the vessels, as necessary, so that the openings are capable of being closed from outside the protected space

LINK TO REPORT CLICK HERE