USS Miami arrives for overhaul at PNSY on March 1st. NAVSEA image

USS Miami, an American Los Angeles-class “improved” fast attack submarine was undergoing a routine maintenance shipyard availability at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard when she caught fire at 5:41 PM Wednesday evening.

The blaze continued for a full 13 hours until finally extinguished this morning at 6:45 EST.

Rear Admiral Rick Breckenridge, Commander, of Submarine Group Two in Groton, Connecticut commented,

“Portsmouth Naval Shipyard Fire Department and Ship’s force, along with mutual assistance from several other area fire departments, immediately responded and successfully extinguished the fire on USS MIAMI.

“The fire and subsequent damage was limited to the forward compartment spaces only which includes crew living and command and control spaces. The nuclear propulsion spaces were physically isolated from the Forward Compartment early during initial response.

Admiral Breckenridge gave high praise of the heroic actions by the firefighters involved, and acknowledged that minor injuries were sustained by seven response personnel.

“The injured personnel included three Portsmouth Naval Shipyard fire-fighters; two ships force crew members; and two civilian fire-fighters providing support. These personnel were either treated on-scene or transported to a local medical facility for further treatment and all have been released. So all injured personnel have been released and are in good shape. There were no casualties in this fire.

During the firefighting response, the reactor spaces, found in the aft end of the boat, “remained in a safe and stable condition throughout the event.” and shipboard reactor watch standers maintained a reactor room presence throughout the ordeal.

There were no weapons on board and full investigation has begun to determine the cause of the fire.

USS Miami on March 15th:

The USS Miami on March 15th as it enters dry dock to begin an engineered overhaul at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard. (U.S. Navy photo by Jim Cleveland/Released)

The Naval Research Laboratory's Shipboard Autonomous Firefighting Robot (SAFFiR) is a humanoid-type robot being designed for shipboard firefighting. Photo: U.S. Naval Research Laboratory

Shipboard fires present crews with unique challenges that are often limited to the capabilities of the human body.  With that in mind, scientists at the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) have been working to develop an autonomous human-like robot that could help fight fires on board ships.

The firefighting robot, called the Shipboard Autonomous Firefighting Robot (SAFFiR), is being designed to move autonomously throughout a ship, interact with people, and fight fires, handling many of the dangerous firefighting tasks that are normally performed by humans.

Virginia Tech and the University of Pennsylvania are working with NRL on the firefighting robot project. NRL's firefighting robot will be a follow-on version to the existing Virginia Tech CHARLI-L1 robot, pictured here. Photo: Virginia Tech

The robot will be designed with advanced multi-modal sensor technology for navigation that will allow it to maneuver well in the narrow passages and ladderways unique to ships and a sensor suite that includes a camera, gas sensor, and stereo IR camera for better visibility in smoky or low light conditions.  And, like a sure-footed sailor, the robot will be capable of walking in all directions, balancing in heavy sea conditions, and traversing obstacles.

In addition to its maneuverability, the robots upper body will be capable of manipulating fire suppressors and throwing PEAT grenades for up to 30 minutes of firefighting through stored battery power.

Another key element of the SAFFiR development is to allow damage control personnel and the robot to work cohesively with human team members. The Navy Center for Applied Research in Artificial Intelligence (NCARAI) is developing the algorithms that will allow autonomous mobility and decision making by the robot. To enable natural interaction with a human team leader, the robot will have multimodal interfaces that will enable the robot to track the focus of attention of the human team leader, as well as to allow it to understand and respond to gestures, such as pointing and hand signals. Where appropriate, natural language may also be incorporated, as well as other modes of communication and supervision.

Researchers from Virginia Tech and University of Pennsylvania are also working with NRL on the project. They plan to test the firefighting robot in a realistic firefighting environment onboard the ex-USS Shadwell, the world’s unique fire test ship based Mobile Alabama, in late September 2013.

Right now the SAFFiR is being developed solely for use on Navy and Marine Corps combatants so don’t expect to see one of these guys show up on your vessel any time soon. But hey, we can dream.

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

Ranging in price from one to several hundred dollars for a quality unit, these guns do one simple job, and they do it effectively… they tell the temperature of objects from a distance. The best ones come not only with a heat detector, but also with a laser mount which makes aiming the unit simple and effective.

This is perfect for use in boundary cooling operations aboard ship.

Just think, what are your biggest enemies during marine firefighting operations… smoke, heat and water.  Too much heat and the fire will spread but put too much water on surrounding bulkheads and you run into stability problems.

This is why a temperature gun should be in your emergency gear kit and handed out to each boundary cooling team with directions to only cool the bulkheads surrounding the fire in short bursts and only when they have heated up beyond normal levels.

The temperature gun has other uses too. Entry teams no longer have to feel each door risking burns on the back of their hands and ventilation ducts can be shot with the laser to check for the movement of smoke and heat through the HVAC system.

The greatest feature of Temperature Laser Guns is their price.  For less than a $1000 you can buy multiple units ready to hand out to first responders.  The best units, like the Fluke-68IS, are more expensive but the price translates to key features including intrinsically safe, water resistant housings, more rugged design, and temperature sensors ranging from -40 °F to 1400 °F.  In contrast, Amazon sells a no brand model for $20 which is great for using around the house (I own one myself!), but it’s max temperature range of 750 °F and shoddy construction would make it useless aboard ship… well, at least useless beyond making sure the old man’s coffee pot is still hot;)

Emma Maersk

The Emma Maersk is a true modern marvel. She is the world’s largest container ship, the longest container ship currently in service, and is propelled by the largest diesel engine ever manufactured.  During the final phase of construction and amid welding work however, a fire broke within Emma Maersk’s multi-million dollar bridge.  Flames quickly spread from the bridge down through the accommodations.  The inferno could be seen for miles.

Extinguishing a fire of this magnitude was only made capable by a group of local firefighters and crew trained to fight shipboard fires.

After escaping near total destruction, made possible only by those brave individuals involved, the Emma Maersk reached total recovery in record time.

The loss of a vessel this size would nearly be on par with losing an entire neighborhood of homes to flames.  When such a vessel is engulfed by flames only to be saved, repaired, and finally commissioned, progress and dedication again lead the way to success.

After a matter of weeks, of which the ship was also delayed, reconstruction was completed and Emma Maersk set sail on her maiden voyage.  The commonly heard story of her successful journey from China to the United Kingdom bearing a cargo of Christmas items later that year, is a simple and appropriate metaphor.  The Emma Maersk is herself a gift, her recovery a hopeful and inspiring tale of recovery and success.

According to A.P. Moller, the parent company of Maersk Line, a single 20-foot vessel container on average can hold about 48,000 bananas. In theory then, Emma Maersk is capable of holding nearly 528 million bananas in a single voyage – enough to give every person in Europe or North America a banana for breakfast. Imagine now, this statistic in terms of Christmas presents. Without the amazing turn-around of Emma, the UK would have seen a lot of unhappy families that Christmas in 2006.

In losing Emma Maersk, we too, would have lost one of the most environmentally friendly container vessels ever built, as seen in her waste heat recovery system, which saves up to ten percent of the ship’s power.  Of even greater environmental importance is her economy of scale.  Being three times that of the largest container ship to ever transit the Panama canal, her carbon footprint (and thus fuel consumption) as a proportion of her cargo-carrying capacity is far smaller than that of the smaller ships that might replace her.

A year after the pivotal story of the Emma Maersk fire she was awarded “Ship of the Year” by Lloyd’s List, the world’s longest running periodical.  Emma was given this award not because of her story, but because she set new standards in innovation, environmental issues and safety for the Maersk Line. Only a vessel that goes from the brilliant and ground-breaking design and construction, to a threat of extinction, to a final feat of success, deserves such an award,

Hailed openly as a true marvel of the sea, Emma Maersk’s journey from flames to reconstruction is a profound tale but certainly not the last testament of maritime achievement.  In 2011, South Korean shipbuilder DSME won a 1.3B Euro contract to construct a vessel nearly double the size of the Emma Maersk… the Pieter Schelte.  This vessel will essentially be a catamaran made up of two hulls, each nearly the size of the Emma Maersk.  It will be an incredible vessel by every measure once completed.

The following are photos and video taken by the local fire brigade that fought the mighty Emma Maersk fire:

Video Of The Emma Maersk Fire:

Click here to view the embedded video.

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By October 2006, the Emma Maersk had been fully repaired and set sail for her maiden voyage to Singapore:

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.

Photo By OneEighteen

If you work on ships it’s likely you are familiar with the Motorola HT750 Portable Two-Way UHF Radio. It’s well built, simple to use and is intrinsically safe. What I like most about the radio is the lack of an LCD screen, which can crack, and it’s minimalist approach to it’s button layout. The radio is almost perfect in that I can just pick it up, dial into a channel and it just works.

But even with this radio their are a few areas that need to be improved. Most notably it could be stronger, lighter and have a longer battery life.

Motorola EX500 Small & Light Portable UHF Radio

While not any stronger the EX500 is nearly half the weight and size of the HT750 and is available with the same basic accessories as its forefather  meaning I no longer have to keep a brick clipped on my belt. The real innovation however, is in it’s lithium-ion battery.

You can buy Li-Ion batteries for the 750, but replacing perfectly good batteries is a hard sell to management (believe me I’ve tried!). Why are Li-Ion batteries better? Well they charge faster, last longer, are lighter, don’t have memory effect…. The list goes on, but basically if you’re ever in an emergency when you battery dies, you’ll wish you had Li-Ion.

Motorola APX 7000XE P25 Portable Radio

I once dropped an HT750 from 20′ onto a steel deck, the battery popped out but their was no damage to the unit but I have seen one dropped from about 30′ and it broke apart. Certainly the HT750 is strong enough for my everyday needs but what would be the harm in having one that’s a bit stronger?

Introducing the Motorola APX 7000XE P25 Portable Radio. While I hate the name and it’s not any lighter or smaller than the HT750 I do like the design. It’s got some great features:

Voice Encryption

FIPS 140-2 Level 3 certified hardware encryption provides tamperproof security to ensure the highest level of secure communications.

In the open ocean you have no need for encrypted traffic but transit the Gulf Of Aden it’s a must-have accessory. The conversations on a regular UHF radio can be heard by anyone with a cheap Radio Shack scanner but maritime security relies on secure communication and this radio provides it by encrypting the voice traffic.

Encryption has other uses as well. In a busy port it makes it impossible to cross signals with nearby ships… because when a nearby ship squawks “Drop The Anchor” over a common frequency you don’t want your boatswain to start swinging the break. And if he does release the anchor underway you don’t want the local media station listening in on the next polite words you say to him.
Dual Microphones

Directional-sensing technology locates the talker and activates sophisticated algorithms in noisy environments, cancelling out unwanted background noise and delivering clear communication.

Ok, I have no idea if this works but it does sound cool.
Integrated GPS

Enables accountability and location tracking of an individual or vehicle, which can be sent to a map-based location application, allowing dispatch operators to manage and track personnel resources.

While this technology is still being worked out, in the future it might help you track the location of your fire team on deck or help you locate your Fast Rescue Boat in fog.

Ergonomic and Rugged

…our most advanced, rugged radio with innovative features designed by first responders for first responders in extreme environments. Together we created an ergonomically superior radio that is easy to operate, with glove-friendly controls and a large top display.

We do not have specifications as to how tough these radios are just the promise from Motorola that they are more rugged than the HT750… and that’s all I need to hear to put a smile on my face.

This Is Important

You may think “It’s just another radio”… something you have given very little thought to in the past and are unlikely to think much about in the future. But UHF’s are important. In the past few months I have read countless incident reports while doing research for my book and a large majority of them have witness statements that goes something like this “I woke up and tried to contact the ECR but the phone system was down and there where no sound-powered phones around.” and this “I woke up and went to my emergency station not knowing what was happening.” None of them mention radios because none of them had radios on them.

If you have duties on the station bill then you need to have a UHF radio on you at all times which means you need to have a charger in your room. Sharing radios with your roomate who works a different shift is not good enough, when the bells sound you should pop out from bed, turn on your radio and start listening to what is happening outside.

Next week’s topic…. having a spare set of boots, hardhat and fire-resistant coveralls hanging IN YOUR ROOM AT ALL TIMES. Having your gear in a boot locker outside, in the laundry or buried in your locker is not safe in the event of a big emergency. And while your coveralls are hanging throw a spare set of gloves, eye-protection and a flashlight in your pocket… they may save your life.

In today’s examination of Harry Thierens, BP’s vice president for drilling and completion, Deepwater Investigation board chairman Captain Hung Nguyen uttered strong statements about safety and the culture of deepwater drilling. While he made a few critical mistakes, like suggesting that having a separate OIM and Captain is standard industry practice (it is not), other points where right on target like the express need for a MODU like the Deepwater Horizon to have a Fast Rescue Boat aboard. Then there where his comments that where simply…. how do we put it…. strong in nature. The following are some of the key comments that he made:

“Not a lot of things are well coordinated here. This operation is a three legged stool with an OIM, Master and Companyman. With Haliburton recommending one thing and BP going with another.”

In terms of Transocean segmenting duties between performance and asset managers, separate technical departments (subsea, drilling, etc) and marine authorities he commented; “There are a lot of stove pipes in terms of drilling, marine systems, maintenance, etc. But I don’t see how these segments are coordinated onshore.”

“There where a lot of lessons learned during the Piper Alpha incident that have not been followed thru to today. Does the industry just expect this sort of thing to happen every 25 years, is the industry ok with that?”

And, most strongly he stated… “It seems like everything I hear is Drilling, Drilling, Drilling A lot of things of importance when we go into an emergency phase, or even before that, are not being coordinated. Who is concentrating on Marine Firefighting?”

gCaptain has brought up marine firefighting issues since our inception and, more recently has supported individual ideas like stand-by emergency vessels, lessons to be learned from previous incidents and the importance of maintaining a continuity of information but the USCG’s comments today suggest the need for a major shift in the thinking of marine safety offshore, a paradigm shift.

If gCaptain was running an offshore drilling company we would immediately put a second E on HS&E to make sure these departments concentrate on Health. Safety, Environment and Emergencies. The USCG is sending strong signals on the direction in which it will push change, if the industry wishes to retain control of their own fate they need to step in front of this move and begin concentrating on major emergency management starting today.

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