Accidents are preventable albeit every year, fires on board ships and rigs do occur and may lead to casualties, causing severe damage to equipment or catastrophic loss of the entire vessel. DNV a leading international certification body and classification society with expertise in technical assessment, advisory, and risk management have identified that approximately 60 percent of fires start in the engine room.
How can we mitigate against engine rooms fires?
The use of Thermal Imaging is one such technique to improve reliability and maintenance issues on board vessels and aid in detection of hot surfaces, this non-invasive technique passively reveals hot-spot surfaces in engine rooms and exposed exhaust surfaces. SOLAS (Safety Of Lives At Sea) recognise the importance of thermal imaging and have outlined temperature specifications (SOLAS Ch.II-2, Reg.15.2.10) that should not be breached. Hotspots seen above a 220˚C threshold require attention to prevent auto ignition of fuel-oil leaks, should they come into contact with a hot surface. For most oils 250˚C is the critical temperature, all temperatures recorded at or above 220˚C requires corrective maintenance attention. Hot surfaces above 220°C are to be insulated or equivalently protected in order to avoid fule-oil ignition.
At Geo Therm Ltd, we can assist you in locating degraded or missing insulation, or inadequate housings using the latest in infrared-technology. Our impartial reporting will show you those areas requiring mitigating actions necessary to comply with your Classification and PM needs. This service can also be bolted onto an electrical infrared survey thus further improving your sea-going safety and operational reliability. Implement our thermal infrared inspection services today, simply call or email.
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