Another container ship on fire

[thomas michael]

Yes tankers particularly when empty could be areal fire hazard.

.


Tinned tomatoes from Italy a couple of years ago turned out to be tins of cocaine lucky to be found but how many others do get though?

hi john
that's what that coward on the Concordia stated,he had to get off quickly so that he could ( direct the passengers more easily from a lifeboat )
also he was Italian like the tomatos
tom

[john walker]

I sailed on about 12 tankers/product carriers carrying many different types of low flash cargoes including methanol and aviation spirits and even bulk whisky without any problems. The one time that I do remember a bad fire was on a Hong Kong flagged bulk carrier (The Rebeka Oma ) that was on a regular run loading swarf (The bits of metal that are left after machining or drilling) the ship used to load in the summer months at River Rouge, Detroit and when the lakes were closed at Baton Rouge,Louisiana It is a very volatile cargo that is likely to spontaneous combustion.This happened on my last voyage on the ship when numbers 2 & 3 holds showed very high cargo temperatures which meant they were alight with about 8,000 tons of cargo in them. As the ship was only a couple of days from its discharge port of Bilbao it was decided to keep the hatches closed to try and starve the fire of oxygen until we reached port and obtained some shore side assistance. On berthing there was various fire engines and firemen there to tackle the problem which they failed to do. The fires were monitored for the next few days and the ships hoses were attached to the corners of the hatch combings and water was pumped in which managed to create a lot of steam and not much else. Eventually the fire burned itself out. The aftermath of the fire left the ship sides around those two hatches looking like a slightly buckled biscuit tin and I do not know how they managed it but local thieves managed to steal 4 of the brass nozzles from the hoses.

[Red Lead Ted]

A lot of cargos where dangerous I remember sailing out of Brownsville USA, With a full cargo of rice for the U.K. not bagged but bulk the mate and the bosun along with the chippy would open a hatch on a good day just enough to see if it was still dry and not SWOLLEN !!!!! It would have split the ship up, It wasn't a bulk carrier either it was one of Harrisons of Liverpool M.V.Linguist. After the cargo had been checked the hatches would be closed and resealed by the chippy. It was only about a 6-7 day crossing but it did play on your mind I stayed in the ship for 3x3 month trips great run around the islands of the Windies and the eastern seaboard of the states. Happy days Terry.

[john walker]

Terry that Harrisons line ship and a few similar ones built for other companies like Blue Funnel etc. are to me some of the most purposeful and fantastic looking ships ever built .Was the accommodation as good as the rest of the ship ???

[Red Lead Ted]

Terry that Harrisons line ship and a few similar ones built for other companies like Blue Funnel etc. are to me some of the most purposeful and fantastic looking ships ever built .Was the accommodation as good as the rest of the ship ???

John we all had a cabin of our own there was a Chief cook and a 2nd cook and baker, She was the first ship I sailed in which had a bar, All her crew where great lads and all got on well, I stayed in her for 3 runs some of the best ports I got to, And you where guarantied your 3 hours a day overtime, Very easy deck to work and maintain all in all John yes mate she was one of the best Regards Terry.

[Chris Allman]

Come on lads please - the subject is Container Ships and Fires - please keep to the Thread - if you want to talk about your old ships then start a thread on them. In fact I will do a Thread for you and then you can discuss your old ships to your hearts content - please don't mess threads up.

[Red Lead Ted]

Go for it Chris, Never intended to stray from the thread simply added another dangerous cargo, Regards Terry.

[Chris Allman]

Its done and open to all - My Old Ships - Good and Bad - fill your boots. Now back to Container Ships and Fires must be some stories about containers and Fires on ships out there amongst the membership.

[Chris Allman]

I am afraid all ships are prone to fires not just container ships - I was a cadet on the Rubens in May 1964 and we were at anchor outside Recife when Debrett went on fire, we were waiting for her berth. We were brought in and put alongside Debrett to help fight the fire in the engine room. We thought we had got it but it flared up again and we had to shift ship very quickly to stop it spreading to us. The fire had got into the fridge insulation and she burnt for a couple more days before it was finally out. They had to cut a hole in her side to let the water out that the Recife Fire Brigade kept pumping into her and to correct the quite bad list she had. We stayed a couple of extra days but could really do little to help, so were instructed to sail and leave her. A team of repair engineers from Russells were sent out to repair her and some three months later she actually sailed home under her own steam to Liverpool. She was sold soon after. The Chief Fridge Engineer and a Donkey man were killed in the fire, apparently the boiler blew back when the donkey man was lighting it, which started the fire and the Chief Fridge went down to shut the fridges down. Very sad all round.

[Keith Tindell]

Ship fire was everyones dread, professional firemen do not relish ship fires. I was lucky while at sea, the thought of having to enter a ship fire with the old smoke hoods, that's all we had in those days, would fill me with dread. Many years ago we had a Naval ship on fire in Southampton, the absolute miles of cables that fell down from the deck head were the biggest hazard to get through, before we could fight the fire. Can anyone remember those smoke hoods ?, and the metal tab attached with the instructions attached, which you had to signal with tugs on the line ??, kt