A fire started in a hold full of declared dangerous goods. Five crew died fighting it.
On 6 March 2018 a fire broke out in a forward cargo hold of the container ship Maersk Honam in the Arabian Sea. The crew fought it with the fixed CO2 system and hoses, then abandoned ship. Five of the 27 crew died.
Words in this case
- dangerous goods
- Packaged cargo with a hazard class under the IMDG Code.
- decomposition
- A chemical breaking down, often with heat and gas.
- fixed CO2 system
- The installed fire-fighting system that floods a hold or engine room with carbon dioxide.
- boundary cooling
- Spraying water on the decks and bulkheads around a fire to stop it spreading.
- emergency schedule (EmS)
- The IMDG guide to fighting a fire or spill for each class of dangerous goods.
More words like these in the glossary and in listening practice.
What happened
Maersk Honam was one of the largest container ships afloat, on a voyage from Singapore to Suez. A cargo hold near the accommodation held, among other containers, a large quantity of a chlorine-based chemical used for water treatment, declared and stowed as the IMDG Code allowed at the time. The chemical decomposes and gives off heat and toxic gas when it gets warm.
Late in the evening the fire alarm sounded for the hold. The crew released CO2 into the hold and mustered, but the fire grew and thick toxic smoke spread. The master ordered abandon ship; 23 crew got away in a lifeboat and were picked up by a ship that answered the distress call. Four crew died in the fire and one more died later in hospital. The ship burned for weeks, was towed to Jebel Ali and eventually rebuilt.
The Transport Safety Investigation Bureau of Singapore found that the decomposition of the chemical cargo was the most likely origin of the fire, that the quantity stowed in one hold made the fire uncontrollable once it started, and that the rules for stowing that substance did not reflect its real hazard. The IMDG Code was changed afterwards.
Why it happened
- A large quantity of a self-decomposing chemical was stowed together in one hold close to the accommodation.
- Once decomposition started, the heat and gas overwhelmed the hold before the CO2 could control it.
- Firefighting and evacuation in thick toxic smoke, at night, cost lives.
What to remember on board
- Read the dangerous goods manifest before departure: which classes, where, and what the emergency schedule (EmS) says for each.
- A container fire in a hold is fought by sealing the hold and releasing CO2, cooling the boundaries and keeping people out of the smoke.
- Breathing apparatus, a headcount and a clear order to abandon: the muster list is written for this night.
- Question stowage that puts a lot of one reactive chemical together, even if the code allows it.
What changed afterwards
The IMDG Code stowage provisions for the substance involved were tightened, and the industry began separating reactive cargoes and keeping them away from the accommodation.
Three questions
The kind of questions a knowledge test asks about this case. Keys 1 to 4 answer, Enter goes on.
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Source: Fire on board Maersk Honam in the Arabian Sea on 6 March 2018, Transport Safety Investigation Bureau, Singapore, final report 2020. Find the report.
On this site: Container ships ยท Fire protection.
Plain-English summary of an official investigation report. Facts and findings are the investigators'; the wording is ours. Nothing here is legal advice or a substitute for the report itself.