When is an incident over? Do you know?

Just a few things to help you identify when an incident is actually over.

You have a serious fire onboard, and your crew managed to get it extinguished, great job but…is that the incident actually over?

While most people may think that the incident was well handled and it’s all over bare for cleaning up the mess but in reality it’s far from over. And this is not just the case with fires; it applies to all incidents from a fire to person overboard and every other incident that can happen!

You’ve put the fire our (dealt with the incident) so what else needs to be done to actually say the incident is over?

Step 1: The fire’s out but you need to look further into what caused it and what can be done to prevent a reoccurrence.

While that’s a critical step the follow-up is even more important and for a fire incident here’s a list of things that should make it clear that the incident is not over.

1. How intense was the fire including:

1. where was the fire (engine room, galley, accommodation, etc.)
2. how hot it would have been (≤600°C, ≤1000°C or ≥1000°C) Temperature is critical as it has major impact on the structural integrity of the hull
3. exposure time, how long the fire was going. Time is another critical factor and in conjunction with temperature the first few minutes a fire at 200°C for aluminium and 500°C for steel hulls can result in a loss of original tensile strength and rigidity.

2. Was there any structural damage than may impact on the structural integrity of the hull. Note that in many cases this is quite often not apparent; a couple of examples:

1. a fibreglass hull that’s been subjected to the extreme heat of a fire in the engine room potentially impacted on the integrity of the fibreglass making it brittle and subject to cracking or breaking allowing water ingress;
2. an aluminium hull that has a serious internal fire may lose up to 50% of its structural strength or even cause the hull to sag or warp;
3. with steel hulls a severe fire has the potential to cause steel plates and frames to expand, warp , twist and buckle. Exposure to high heat weakens critical welded joints or connection elements;
4. a timber hull that’s been exposed to a serious fire may have structural integrity issues (if it’s still afloat!) caused by weakened fastenings, rib or frame damage, caulking issues, etc. that may not be immediately noticeable.

3. What damage did the fire cause to electrical equipment and wiring, machinery, etc. Not only visible wiring but also internal wiring which may, at first not be visible?

4. Was there any structural damage that has the potential to impact the superstructure?

5. Was there internal damage to a cabin or cabins that would impact on your operations?

6. What was the extent of damage to surface coatings; e.g. non-slip surfaces, treads on stairs, paintwork, etc?

7. Do you need to submit an AMSA incident alert (form 18) and an AMSA incident report?

8. Do you need to submit a report to WHS?

9. Do you need to get a vessel survey for AMSA or your insurance company?

10. Was your insurance company notified?

The above 10 items are just an example of items that have to be taken into account after a fire incident onboard and should be regarded as part of tWhile that’s a critical step the follow-up is even more important and for a fire incident here’s a list of things that should make it clear that the incident is not over.

The only time an incident may be considered over is when all the flow on factors (as indicated above) are considered and dealt with accordingly.

Please note that this is just an overview based on a fire incident onboard, but the process should be applied to all incidents.  

Shorlink’s Recommendation

If you have an incident onboard you must look further than just the actual incident itself. We strongly recommend that you complete the follow-up as outlined in this article and make sure you action any of the potential short and/or long-term threats that may impact on the seaworthiness of your vessel.

While a fire may have been contained and extinguished quickly and efficiently the potential impacts of the fire are not usually taken into account, especially the hull integrity which may not become apparent for months or even years after the incident.

Tip

Our only tip is to ensure you look deeper in to all incidents, big and small to identify not only the cause of the incident but the potential impacts both short and long term especially in relation to hull integrity.

If you would like to know more about how to follow up on incidents, both onboard and shore-based don’t hesitate to contact our office.