Check Your Hydraulic Lines!

FV Three Girls, 

The NTSB (National Safety Transportation Board) has just come out with their report of the fire on the 82 foot F/V Three Girls 118 miles SE of Portland Maine. https://www.ntsb.gov/investigations/AccidentReports/Reports/MIR2504.pdf

The NTSB determined the probable cause of the fire aboard the fishing vessel Three Girls was likely the failure of a component on the hydraulic system which was located in the engine room, resulting in pressurized hydraulic oil spraying onto a running engine’s exhaust system and igniting. 

Fortunately, upon leaving port earlier in the day, the captain conducted a safety drill and orientation to the survival equipment onboard for everyone onboard. Twenty minutes after the captain made a round of the engine room, he smelled smoke coming from the engine room and the fire broke out.

The 5 crewmembers and sole fisheries observer were able get off a MAYDAY, fire flares, don immersion suits, turn on their EPIRB and boarded the liferaft. The fish observer also turned on the PLB. Within about 2 hours, with Coast Guard aircraft, vessels and good Samaritans converging on the survivors, they crew was rescued with no injuries. The Three Girls was towed back to Portland and once there, firefighters extinguished the fire by the next day. She was declared a total at a value of 1.3 million dollars but all crew came home alive.

According to the NTSB, “Most serious engine room fires begin with a spray of fuel or oil onto hot exhaust components. According to the captain, all the hydraulic hoses had been replaced 2 years before the fire. The captain stated that the typical hydraulic pressure in the system was between 2,200–2,800 pounds per square inch (psi) while operational. The captain estimated that, on the evening of the fire, the hydraulic system was running 80-90%, with all the hydraulic components operational at full load just before the fire broke out. 

In a post casualty interview, the captain stated that about 2 years before the fire, he noticed 

the return oil filter box “bulging” while the hydraulic system was operating. At that time, the return pipe to the storage tank was 2 inches in diameter. The shore engineer replaced the 2-inch pipe with a 4-inch pipe to allow more oil to flow back to the storage tank and relieve pressure from the filter box. The captain said he had not seen the filter box bulge since the piping had been modified.

Ventilation was provided to the engine room via an electrically driven fan in the starboard stack, drawing in fresh air and discharging into the starboard side of the engine room in a forward direction. An electrically driven exhaust fan, located in the port stack, drew air from the port aft side of the engine room and discharged out through the aft side of the port stack. Neither fan was equipped with a louver to close off the air supply, and neither was able to be started or stopped remotely.”

The Three Girls firefighting equipment consisted of an electric driven fire pump, and several fire extinguishers but no fixed fire extinguishers or any smoke or fire detectors in the engine room and none were required. A closed-circuit camera system, was in the process of being repaired at the time.

The NTSB continues, “Neither engine was equipped with remote shutoffs. Additionally, there were no dampers or remote shutoffs for the supply and exhaust fans in the engine room to secure this ventilation. Therefore, oxygen, feeding the fire, continued to circulate throughout the engine room, and the fire continued to burn.”

In order to breach the human skin the ejection pressure has to be at least 100 pounds per square inch psi. Generally hydraulic hoses run on fishing vessels run at 700-800 pds, plenty strong enough to breach the skin barrier. Pressure can also build up to 4,000 to 9,000 psi within a system. Most high-pressure guns and injectors reach pressures of 2000 to 12000 psi. Hydraulic hose comes in different colors to signify pressure: Red: Typically indicates high-pressure hoses, often used for applications above 3,000 PSI. Blue or Green: Used for medium-pressure hoses, which generally range between 1,500 and 3,000 PSI. Yellow: Designates low-pressure hoses, usually under 1,500 PSI.

"The severity of injury and consequently the prognosis depend on the toxicity, density, and velocity of the injected substance, the pressure of the appliance, the anatomy and distensibility of the injection site, the possible secondary infection and the interval between injury and treatment. Amputation rate ranges between 16% and 48% and can even reach 80% in injection injuries by paint solvents" and add the source of the information". -National Institute of Health

As a minimum people should at least use leather gloves when checking hydraulic lines on fishing vessels.

Lessons Learned: 

1. When a fire ignites, remove the sources of available fuel and ventilation to the fire to prevent it from spreading. 

2. Vessel designers, builders, owners, and operators are encouraged to install, regularly test remote shut offs for all machinery within spaces to ensure the machinery can be stopped from outside the affected space.

3. To prevent the reintroduction of oxygen to the space, vessel designers and owners should ensure that the ventilation, both natural and forced draft, can be completely and remotely secured to all engine rooms.

4. Have emergency drills that include the location of remote shut offs and ventilation that can be closed to engine and other affected spaces on the vessel. 

Finally, be meticulous about checking hydraulic hoses and fittings on every engine room check.