Members of the crash and smash team aboard USS Fitzgerald (DDG 62) brace for shock on the deck as a simulated helicopter crashes on the flight deck aboard USS Fitzgerald (DDG 62). (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Mikey Mulcare)

I was recently aboard a rig that, in addition to firefighters manning foam fire monitors, had the Fast Rescue Craft (FRC) manned during every helicopter landing and takeoff.

With the helipad on this rig jutting out over the water, it was a rather smart idea to have the FRC on close standby in case the chopper missed its mark and landed in the water. But the location of this rig’s FRC was directly adjacent to the helipad meaning that if the helicopter did crash, the fast rescue team would be fully exposed to shrapnel.

Not good.

A more common problem I’ve seen during drills aboard multiple rigs are medics leading stretcher teams into hazardous areas. While most large rigs have a medic aboard, very few have more than one which leads us to the question… if the medic gets killed who will care for the victims?

As captains and fire team leaders, it is not ethically right for us to favor one person over another. During an emergency it shouldn’t matter if a person is a close friend or a stranger, being in charge means we must be objective and always strive to do “the most good for the most number of people”.  How can we let the medic stand by in the hospital while we send roustabouts into the flames? Isn’t the safety of a roustabout just as important as that of the medic?

We need to find a way to save the most number of people with the resources we have.  The fact is, a medic’s specialized skills makes him or her critically important in helping us meet our objective of protecting the most lives.

Requiring the FRB team to standby their boat for a helicopter crash may be in the best interest of those riding the helicopter, but those individuals are already at risk. Landing helicopters on a moving platform is dangerous, but mustering the team at the boat provides little advantage over mustering them in the nearby break room, safe from shrapnel.

To illustrate the point, let’s imagine a high-intensity urban fire:  A riot breaks out in the Bronx and an apartment building catches fire, people are dying every minute, children are succumbing to the smoke, yet the firefighters don’t approach until the police secure the area. Once inside, the nozzelman, who could easily be replaced by the man behind him, leads the way with his officer, with more skill and harder to replace, a few steps behind him. Outside, and thus further from danger is the Fire Chief, a man with very specialized skills. And, of course, the medics wait outside for the victims to be brought to them.

You should train your fire team no different from the professionals with the on scene leader, often the Chief Mate or 1st Engineer, remaining on deck – away from the flames. A 2nd or 3rd mate should suit out and enter with the hose team, but stay a few steps behind in relative safety.  And the individuals with the most skill and experience, the Captain, the Chief Engineer, and the Medic, should remain in the relative safety of the bridge, ECR, and Hospital respectively.

Finally, there is the question of who’s life is more critical to the effort of saving the most number of people… a fire team member or a victim?  The firefighter, capable of saving multiple lives, is more valuable than the victum, who is capable of saving no one.

Protect the rescuers!

The chain of events that lead to disaster almost always starts as a series of small problems that compound quickly. A firefighter moderately injured requires rescue and medical treatment that will take the medic’s attention away from the original problem. It’s easier and more effective to keep the rescue teams from getting injured in the first place.

Loss of a helicopter is tragic ,but the loss of the helicopter, the men manning the fire monitors, and the FRC team is unthinkable… and unnecessary.

Treat your rescue teams like gold, protect them at all cost, and they will return the favor by saving lives and helping prevent disaster.

Stricter rules and standards in design and materials will help companies and shipyards fit sturdier fire and lifesaving equipment says Lloyd’s Register’s Principal Statutory Specialist Sam James

The worrying toll of problems and accidents caused by poorly-designed fire and life-saving equipment (LSA) makes it doubly important for the marine industry to forge better rule-sets to reduce the number of future incidents.

By pinpointing specific design faults, or gaps in the applicable requirements, testing, certification and survey material, poor equipment designs can be compared against existing test standards to identify why they are not fit for purpose.

It is also crucial that designers and manufacturers improve the design of products to ensure their suitability and lasting performance and reduce the potential for failures and accidents. These improved regulations and test standards will ensure that the marine equipment supplied – either of existing or novel designs – to owners and shipyards meets its performance requirements and is therefore fit for purpose.

Alternative materials
As the marine industry strives to improve energy efficiency we can expect ship operators to seek increasingly fuel-efficient designs. One way to achieve this will be to reduce the lightship weight of vessels through the use of exotic construction materials such as fiber reinforced plastic (FRP). Obviously, by using these materials shipbuilders are straying from materials that have well-understood performance characteristics such as steel. Increased focus on ship recycling, and the costs of ship demolition, will also encourage owners to request construction materials that will minimize both environmental and cost implications.

To ensure ships constructed from these materials are safe Lloyd’s Register will be studying:

• The alternative materials to be used and their characteristics;
• Structural integrity (through life);
• Performance of the materials in a fire;
• Medium-term development of materials that have inbuilt fire-retardant properties.

The comprehensive assessment of these materials at an early stage will ensure the implications and limitations of their use are fully understood, and enable evaluation of proposed applications to be conducted quickly and robustly. Acceptability criteria and applicable regulations will then be developed.

These systems are designed to help ship operators and ships’ staff decide what they need to do in a range of emergency situations including fire, flooding and grounding. They include the ability to evaluate the survivability of the vessel in these situations and on this basis to make suggestions for actions that will improve the vessel’s survivability and, in some cases, to initiate the actions themselves. These systems, although the most practical way to assist a master in a casualty situation, are currently unregulated but their significant impact on ship safety is bringing them under the regulators’ spotlight.

Lloyd’s Register and our industry clients are investigating the establishment of rules and regulations to help address safety issues and make sure they remain practical. This will involve:

• The identification of available systems including their interaction with control engineering, safety management systems, casualty management and communication systems;
• The development of acceptance criteria for usability and performance criteria;
• Involvement in the development of regulations covering new and emerging technology.

These actions will ensure that equipment supplied by manufacturers worldwide continues to satisfy the functional requirements while remaining simple, robust and fit for purpose for the duration of a
ship’s life.

Republished with permission from Lloyd’s Register Horizon’s magazine

This week marks the 23th anniversary of the worst offshore oil disaster in history.

The Piper Alpha was a North Sea oil production platform operated by Occidental Petroleum (Caledonia) Ltd. It accounted for around ten per cent of the oil and gas production from the North Sea at the time. The platform began production in 1976 first as an oil platform and then later converted to gas production. An explosion and resulting fire destroyed it on July 6, 1988, killing 167 men. Total insured loss was $ 3.4 billion. While the environmental damage was not as severe as the loss of the Deepwater Horizon, it remains world’s worst offshore oil disaster in terms of lives lost.

The Amazing site Oil Rig Disasters writes about the Piper Alpha. they tell us:

On 06 July 1988, work began on one of two condensate-injection pumps, designated A and B, which were used to compress gas on the platform prior to transport of the gas to Flotta. A pressure safety valve was removed from compressor A for recalibration and re-certification and two blind flanges were fitted onto the open pipework. The dayshift crew then finished for the day.

During the evening of 06 July, pump B tripped and the nightshift crew decided that pump A should be brought back into service. Once the pump was operational, gas condensate leaked from the two blind flanges and, at around 2200 hours, the gas ignited and exploded, causing fires and damage to other areas with the further release of gas and oil. Some twenty minutes later, the Tartan gas riser failed and a second major explosion occurred followed by widespread fire. Fifty minutes later, at around 2250 hours, the MCP-01 gas riser failed resulting in a third major explosion. Further explosions then ensued, followed by the eventual structural collapse of a significant proportion of the installation.

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Piper Alpha Video

Click here to view the embedded video.

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Piper Alpha Photos

The Piper Alpha, as seen from a crew change helicopter, before the fire started.

All that remains of the oil platform after the devastating fire burns out.

The fire in full blaze. Imagine the heat that was generated.

A simulation of the survivability of the Piper Alpha’s Lifeboats.

The Blaze lit the night sky for miles in every direction.

Video Links:

• Piper Alpha Tribute Video
  
• Video animation of Piper Alpha Explosion
• “My Duke of Edinburgh” Movie Trailer

Links:

• 10 Deadliest Offshore Accidents
• BBC Report on this incident.
• Memories of the men who died
• UK Study on preventing large shipboard explosions
• Fire and Blast Information Group: Piper Alpha

Modern Day Oil Rig Tragedy – Gulf Of Mexico

For a look at a discussion on the cause and effect of the Deepwater Horizon – Gulf Of Mexico Oil Rig Tragedy and the blog post “Deepwater Horizon Explosion – Breaking News From The Gulf Of Mexico” for a real time look at the events behind a modern oil rig explosion & fire.

Image by Kjetil Alsvik

–Average production of 60,000 barrels equivalent a day to be lost as result of shutdown

–Accident to be investigated by Norwegian authorities, BP

–Any possible connection with 2009 incident to be probed by investigators.

(Adds details in paragraphs 4, 6, 7.)

LONDON (Dow Jones)–Production at a Norwegian North Sea oil platform operated by BP PLC (BP) remains shut down following a fire at the facility Wednesday, a BP spokesman said Thursday.

“It is a bit early to say [when production will resume]. We are looking into the damage caused then we will also be able to make a judgment as to the repairs required to have a safe start-up again,” BP spokesman Jan Erik Geirmo said.

He said he was expecting an update on the situation later Thursday morning.

The field produced on average 60,000 barrels of oil equivalent a day before the shutdown, said Geirmo. Most of the output belonged to New York-based Hess Corp. (HES), which has a 64.05% interest in the field. BP is the operator, with the remaining 35.95% interest.

Geirmo said the fire, which was detected in the compressor area on the platform, will be investigated by Norway’s Petroleum Safety Authority as well as BP. All employees were evacuated to an adjacent bridge-linked platform and have been accounted for, said Geirmo, adding that there were no injuries.

This isn’t the first incident to shut down production at the facility. In March 2009, production was halted following a pipeline leak, an internal BP document showed. Geirmo said he didn’t think the two events were related but that it was “something that would be looked into.

“It would be unprofessional to speculate at this time, but clearly it will also be addressed by those investigating [the incident],” he said.

News of the fire comes at a time when BP is still struggling with the fallout of last year’s Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. A rig that BP leased from Transocean Ltd. (RIG) exploded and sank in April 2010, unleashing the worst offshore oil spill in U.S. history.

According to BP’s website, the Valhall production platform was built to process 168,000 barrels of oil and 350 million cubic feet of gas a day. The platform also processes oil and gas that comes from the Hod field, located about 13 kilometers south of Valhall.

At 0858 GMT, BP shares were down three pence, or 0.7%, at 453 pence amid a 0.5% lower FTSE 100 index.

-By Alexis Flynn, Dow Jones Newswires

LONDON (Dow Jones)–A fire that broke out on an oil tanker after a pirate attack off the Yemeni coast has now been extinguished, an official at the company managing the ship said Wednesday.

Though a large-scale oil disaster appears to have been avoided, news of the fire on the 1 million barrels tanker will revive security fears on a shipping route that has suffered increasingly bold attacks from Somali pirates.

The fire “was extinguished,” said Andreas Louka, a legal adviser at Athens’ Central Mare Inc., the company managing the Brillante Virtuoso tanker.

Asked if the tanker, which was on its way from Ukraine to China, could still deliver its cargo, Louka said “they are going to assess” the damage first.

“The crew is safe, the vessel is safe. There is no pollution,” the official has previously said.

-By Benoit Faucon, Dow Jones Newswires

The regulations require that all tanker and tank barge owners operating in U.S. waters update their existing USCG-approved Vessel Response Plan (VRP) with a Salvage and Marine Firefighting (SMFF) plan.  Tank vessel owners must certify they have pre-contracted firefighting services, equipment, and trained response personnel.  During the past 3 years, both RESOLVE and T&T BISSO developed comprehensive in-house firefighting response systems which include newly purchased, custom-built equipment and networks of trained maritime firefighters to meet any vessel response needs.

“These new regulations required a substantial capital investment just to meet the minimum planning requirements.” Said Captain Farhat Imam, COO of RESOLVE.  “When RESOLVE talked with T&T BISSO, we both agreed that meeting the minimum regulatory requirement just wasn’t enough.  By combining and strategically locating our firefighting equipment – equipment owned and operated by RESOLVE and T&T BISSO — we can assure tanker operators realistic, operational coverage for any emergency event.”

Mauricio Garrido, President of T&T BISSO: “Shipboard fires don’t occur that often, but when they do you must have the best gear and trained personnel available.  The T&T BISSO-RESOLVE team achieves just that.   The decision to pool resources was catalyzed by several tanker operators who opted to list both RESOLVE and T&T BISSO so as to ensure the best possible coverage and the reluctance of most public fire departments to support the tanker industry.  We know that – together – T&T BISSO and RESOLVE have the most concrete and realistic coverage available.”

The T&T BISSO-RESOLVE coalition has been well-received by the USCG during their unprecedented vetting of firefighting in each and every port.  This partnership is a positive outcome of the regulatory process.  Neither company reduced their outlay of equipment.  Instead, where a port was double-covered, equipment was moved to outlying ports to provide faster and more effective coverage.  The T&T BISSO-RESOLVE coalition pre-positions 45 high-volume marine fire pumps throughout the coverage area and makes over two million gallons of firefighting foam available throughout the U.S.

The Deepwater Horizon tragedy teaches the general public and regulators about the safety culture in the offshore industry and the environmental risk associated with deepwater drilling.  As a seagoing professional, here are five things you can do to keep you safer while working at sea.

Proximity And Preparedness

The physical and mental state of the Deepwater Horizon survivors varied considerably from minor cuts and burns to traumatic head injury and panic. The extent of these injuries where directly related to two factors; proximity to the initial explosions and personal preparedness.

Brent Mansfield, the rig’s 1st Engineer and graduate of the US Merchant Marine Academy, was as well trained as anyone on the rig in emergency procedures yet he was the most critically injured with a deep fracture to his skull. That night Mansfield was in the Engine Control Room adjacent to the first explosion which occurred in a main diesel generator. There is little Brent could have done to avoid his injuries, his physical proximity to the explosion being the primary cause of his injuries.

The second most critically injured that night was Buddy Trahan who had suffered multiple bone fractures and significant burns after being pinned beneath a cabinet near the explosion. The fractures Trahan received where directly related to his proximity to the blast but the burns might have been avoided if he had been wearing fire resistant coveralls.

Lower on the list of injured persons was the rig’s OIM who had been taking a shower in his cabin, a fair distance from the first explosion. According to his testimony he found a towel and some clothes but struggled to find his boots and coveralls in the darkness of his cabin. He had no communication with the bridge and, therefore, was unaware of the dangers he would encounter. During his escape to the bridge subsequent explosions blew insulation and debris onto him, essentially tar and feathering his body and rendering him functionally blind.

Apart from their initial proximity to the flames a second factor determined the types of injuries these three individuals suffered, the time between knowledge of a problem and the time of injury. Brent Mansfield had the shortest interval of time with only seconds between high gas alarms sounding and unconsciousness. He had no time to prepare. Buddy Trahan, having checked in with the subsea engineer minutes before the explosion,  was the first to know something was wrong that night yet he did not know the immediacy of the problem in time to don coveralls or other PPE that would have prevented burns. The OIM was relatively safe in his cabin during the first blast with a modest amount of time to prepare himself yet he received his injuries during the escape.

Mansfield had no time or options but Trahan’s burns could have been prevented if company policy mandated coveralls inside the accommodation but, in reality, he had few options to protect himself. The OIM’s injuries however where completely avoidable. This article is not an indictment of the OIM’s actions, I personally would have faired no better, or that of the crew. Rather, I am writing about it so others can learn the important lessons of that night which include:

(1) Time, Distance and Shielding – The critical factors of survival

In CBRD training mariners working aboard navy supply ships are taught that during a nuclear, chemical or biological strike three factors are critical to your survival:

Time – The Longer you remain in the area, the higher your risk of fatal expose.
Distance – The further away you are from the incident, the more likely you are to survive.
Shielding – Be it a what you where (e.g. Fireman’s or Chemical Exposure Suit) or where you are located (e.g. standing behind a thick steel bulkhead or water curtain) the more physical barriers between you and the incident, the more likely you are to survive.

The same is true of blow-outs, fires and other emergencies aboard your vessel. To be safe you want to take action quickly and remain within reach or danger for as little time as possible (time). You want to distance yourself first from the blast area then, with abandonment, from the ship itself (distance). Last you want to wear PPE and keep physical protection between yourself and danger.

The lack of time, distance and shielding proved fatal for 11 men and where primary factors in the injuries of all persons that night. Make sure you are aware of these factors and use the knowledge to plan your escape.

(2) PPE – Personal Protective Equipment

Had a spare set of coveralls been hanging in the subsea office Trahan visited he might have put them on and prevented burns. The same applies if company policy had mandated that he wore them inside the accommodations. Personally I do not wear PPE inside the accommodations and do not think companies should start mandating this but it is important for all companies and individuals to ask “What If?”. Do not assume any area aboard your vessel is safe, consider the danger and develop plans to mitigate risk.

What if your xx happens aboard your vessel in proximity to yy? Brainstorm ideas today to be prepared for tomorrow.

(3) Communication

As fire team leader I keep my radio near me at all times including at night where it charges within reach of my bed. The radio remains off much of the time but, if the general alarm starts to ring, I can quickly turn it on and start learning about the emergency from the second I wake up. Time is a critical factor.

If you are a team leader and wait until you’re at your muster station to call the bridge or, worst yet, you wait for the bridge to call you - you’re are wasting valuable time. Keeping a radio nearby at all times to get yourself up to speed fast and put your mind immediately on the problems confronting you.

(4) Availability of gear

An emergency gear locker is of no use if a fire is between your team and their gear. Make sure your vessel has multiple lockers and that, at least, one is available in all conceivable situations to don’t require immediate abandonment of the ship.

If your company is unwilling to buy additional equipment you need to take action on an individual level by identifying potential fire zones near the lockers. Determine alternate access points to the gear. You should also determine the availability of equipment elsewhere on the ship. Does the vessel have a safety gear locker with spares? Does the engine room have an ax and crowbar? It will be much easier to find this equipment if you know where it is located before the fire starts to burn.

(5) Availability of PPE

More important than the radio near my bed is the flashlight hanging next to it. If the ship loses power you will not have time to look through drawers to find the flashlight.

But a flashlight is not enough. Hanging behind my door are the following:

1 set of fire resistant coveralls – with gloves, a flashlight and knife tucked in the pockets
1 pair of eye protection & hardhat
1 pair of steel toe boots with socks tucked inside

This spare set of PPE is critical to your survival and, had it been available, would have saved the OIM from injury. But remember, time is critical, to be effective the gear needs to be hanging, neat and organized, in your cabin not stowed away in drawers drawers.

Further this equipment need to be in addition to your work clothes! The fire resistant coating on your coveralls becomes less effective each time it is washed so your spare set should be in “like new” condition. You also don’t want your gear to be in the laundry or in the change room when crisis emerges – it must be hanging in your room and ready to don.

Gear To Abandon Ship
Many ships have an emergency grab bag packed with an EPIRB, handheld VHF, flashlights and other supplies to assist you we it is necessary to abandon ship. It is time that we all update this bag with the right gear.

When the Deepwater Horizon exploded in April of this year there was little need for such a grab bag as the workboat Damon Bankston was ready and available to haul in survivors. Yet a few items would have been helpful. Had an extra EPIRB been available and tossed in the water at the time of abandonment, its natural drift would have given search and rescue personnel an estimate of where to look for survivors. The second item is a handheld satellite phone, these are now relatively cheap and provide a level of communication with shore that can not be matched by radio.

When was the last time you looked in your abandon ship bag? Do you even have one? Today is the time to consider the usefulness of each item contained in that bag and to fill it with additional supplies that may be needed.

NYC’s most distinguished Fireboat, FDNY’s “Fire Fighter” ( Marine 9 ):

With a cost of $924,000 in 1938 she is the most expensive fireboat ever constructed relative to inflation. Firefighters who have worked her deck, however, will tell you the step price tag has been repaid many times over by the work she has done throughout her 70 years of service.

Engine Room:

Marine 9′s “Fire Fighter” was designed with a pair of Winton sixteen cylinder diesel engines that each power an electric generator capable of powering her twin 1,000 horsepower electric motors. Once at the fire scene the boat’s engineers need to divide power between the screws and the fire pumps. When 100% of the power is sent to the pumps she is capable of delivering 20,000 gallons per minute of water to either her fire monitors or shore side to trucks fighting more traditional fires.

Tower:

The Fire Fighter was originally designed with a fifty-five foot water tower that has since been removed due to maintenance costs.

If you are interested in fire boats and have some extra time to donate head over to the FDNY Fireboat John J Harvey website and help restore a hero from September 11th.

Related Books:

• A Maritime History Of New York
• Report from Engine Co. 82 (a gCaptain Favorite)
• The Heroic Adventures of the John J. Harvey(Children Book)
• Fireboats of 9/11 DVD

Tools For Your Vessel

As Professional Mariners we know the importance of fire safety on board our vessels. Having the right tool for the job when the sh*t hits the fan can make the difference between a successful outcome and a really bad day. A Halligan Bar, also known as a Halligan tool, is standard equipment for fire departments worldwide. Invented by Deputy Chief Hugh Halligan of the FDNY, it is the multipurpose tool that is used for tasks ranging from forced entry to overhaul. The tool was so effective that New York City Firefighters bought them with their own money until the department ultimately decided to purchase the tool for each fire house.

Halligan Tool or Halligan Bar

Another look at the Halligan Tool

Video of the Halligan Tool in use

In October 2009 the Transocean rig Marianas began drilling a well named Macondo, but she suffered damage in a hurricane and was replaced by the Deepwater Horizon. Five months later Macondo exploded killing 11 rig workers and injuring 17 more. But this was not the Marianas’ first brush with disaster.

Originally named the MSV Tharos, the Marianas was built by the famed Red Adair as a firefighting support rig. The rig included space for the launch of helicopters, powerful firefighting equipment and even a 22 bed hospital. These attributes saved lives in July of 1988 when the Piper Alpha production platform exploded in flames and the Tharos was dispatched to rescue survivors.

Today no such platform exists. US Coast Guard officials have testified that launching the first search and rescue helicopter took 24 minutes the night of the Macondo blowout and flight time to the incident location took significantly longer. Once on location, helicopters could only standby for short periods of time before running out of fuel. Eventually the Cutter Zephyr was dispatched to provide a platform for the coordination of efforts but due to her distance from the incident she was slow in arriving.

Last tuesday the oil majors announced a $1 billion plan to build infrastructure and stage equipment for rapid oil spill response in the event of another major blowout. But how much are they spending on infrastructure and equipment for rapid medical and SAR response? Zero.

Maybe it’s time to think broadly on the topic of safety of life offshore and invest in making the workplace safer but also in making lifesaving resources more abundant. Maybe the oil majors should invest $1 billion in an offshore hospital platform complete with advanced firefighting teams, helicopter hanger bays and fueling stations? Or is it too much to expect that injured offshore workers get medical treatment within the golden hour and that helicopters with nightvision, FLIR scanners and other Search and Rescue technology be forward deployed and ready to use?

Just a though. What are your ideas for prevention and response to major emergencies offshore?