There are some sensible ideas coming out of Japan, where classification society ClassNK has been studying the very real problems of evacuation and lifesaving appliances (LSAs) in the event of a serious fire on a large vehicle carrier. There were very distressing scenes in the emergency involving the car carrier Fremantle Highway, which burned for several days off the Dutch Coast in July 2023, Baird Maritime reports.
The crew, which had attempted to fight the blaze as it was spreading from one of the car decks, were unable to access any of their life saving equipment and seven of them resorted to leaping into the sea from a great height. One died and several were badly injured.
That particular fire was the fourth serious conflagration to occur on large vehicle carriers in a two-year period and focused attention on the difficulties of firefighting aboard ships carrying many thousands of vehicles, increasing numbers of which are electrically driven (which offered its own new set of challenges), and others with fuel in their tanks.
Perhaps less attention has been given to the difficulties of evacuating big, multi-decked vessels, where the accommodation, and almost all of the LSA, is located above the garage car spaces and very high above the sea surface. It is also worth noting the difficulties of evacuation using helicopters above a burning ship with huge amounts of smoke and flames hampering rescuers.
It appears that the sort of evacuation systems designed for far smaller ships have merely been extrapolated to fit the larger vessels.
The ClassNK study, which recognised that work was needed on this serious problem, has resulted in published guidance for safe evacuation of crew members. It now offers a special notation for ships in which measures to confront the problem have been taken. These recognise that in these incidents, flames and smoke had made the use of boats and rafts impossible, with smoke pouring through the ventilation systems near to the boats, housed on the upper deck. It recommends enhanced water spraying systems, insulation under the lifeboats, and evacuation equipment in different locations, such as the forward mooring decks, which are much nearer the water.
As this class of ship has grown in capacity (a new design has been approved that could carry up to 12,800 vehicles), it appears that the sort of evacuation systems designed for far smaller ships have merely been extrapolated to fit the larger vessels. The height of the accommodation above the multiple decks of the garage makes a free fall design of lifeboat impractical, while the extraordinary length of the falls necessary to launch a boat at such a height comes with its own problems, if the ship is moving in a seaway.
Designers seem to have largely ignored the difficulties. The fire problems were also tragically illustrated with a Ro-Ro ferry on fire in the Mediterranean some years ago, when the boats and rafts had been located directly above large natural ventilation apertures in the vehicle deck, out of which flames and smoke from blazing trucks were pouring.
It is regrettably the case that designers, if they ever look at such issues, beyond the scope of regulation, will tend to regard the positioning of LSA as something of an afterthought. While enormous efforts surround LSA on passenger ships, those aboard merchant ships, with their tiny crews, will probably not qualify for a great deal of attention in the design stage. It will be angrily denied, but there will be a certain unspoken calculation of the odds of serious accidents in designers’ minds.
One has to ask whether the problems of evacuating the ship’s accommodation, so remote from its LSA, have ever been considered.
Beyond the realms of large vehicle carriers, there is a range of ships coming into service in which the whole design configuration really ought to prompt a closer look at whether the location or type of LSA remains fit for use.
Take, for instance, the growing enthusiasm for locating the accommodation island right forward, in the eyes of the ship, where it forms a useful “breakwater” to protect the cargo spaces. Such a design can be seen on a wide range of ship types and sizes, from very large containerships to small short sea vessels. Obviously, lifeboats will require to be situated on the ship’s parallel body for safety, so the alternative of positioning a free-fall boat right aft is seen as an attractive proposition, with no interference with the cargo spaces.
One has to ask whether the problems of evacuating the ship’s accommodation, so remote from its LSA, have ever been considered. The distressed crewmembers will have to make their way the full length of their ship, passing perhaps a blazing hold or braving seas coming aboard, to reach their boat. The engine room itself, well aft, might be on fire, with smoke or flames making it difficult or impossible to clamber up to access the free-fall craft on its launching gantry.
It is unlikely to happen, the designers might rationalise. But supposing it does, it does suggest some more creative thoughts along the lines of those devised by ClassNK.