Unfortunately, There is no way to know.
I suspect the power cords particularly those designed for household use with surge protectors.
We have had two small incidents in crew cabins with surge protected power cords.
The difference is power ashore is two phase on board with generator three phase. The chief did try to explain to me why this matters. I didn’t quite get it.
Oddly the cheep ones from the dollar store with no surge protector aren’t a problem.
We now have a policy only power cords approved by Chief Engineer allowed to be used on board.
There are notices to Mariners about these. Not something I would have clued in on. Engineers did.
It appears this vessel was of a size and hp which did not require an engineer.
Of course it might have been a faulty battery or discarded smoking material.
Even though smoking of any product is not permitted we have had recent minor incidents with discarded butts.
And back to why rounds? And detectors.
Whatever caused the fire. It was able to get out of control.
I think being fair, the intent of taking the picture was probably to assist in raising a concern, a picture worth 1000 words. Unfortunately events progressed and he never got the opportunity.
It might be worth noting that something like the extension-cord/power strip/lithium battery issue would probably come up at a larger company through the SMS and safety management program as a corporate safety alert. I recall seeing several shared as a result of a fire on another company’s ship.
But with a small operator with three boats you don’t have that depth of office. To me that should place some responsibility upon the company’s management, not solely on the shoulders of the individual captain.
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In my experience with these types of boats with a crew of 6, one of them is a ‘designated engineer’ whose primary duty is to keep the main engine and auxiliary equipment running. It’s not required to have a licensed engineer, he’s just a handyman around engines type. He’s typically trained by the former designated engineer who is on his way up or out. It’s typically one of the steps on the ladder from deckhand to captain.
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The extension cord/power strip issue was already an issue for crew members way back in 2000 when I first started working on cruise ships. Power strips, extension cords, Christmas lights, hot pots, etc were all brought up in our safety training classes as being fire hazards. Big ships from large companies with already well implemented SMS systems though.
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Sen. Feinstein began work on this bill soon after the loss of the Conception but it won’t be passed until next year as part of an 1800 page omnibus defense bill. It’s too bad Congress is incapable of passing simple bills without having to piggyback onto mountainous piles of other bills that have nothing in common. Until then, it’s business as usual.
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A post was split to a new topic: Seaman’s Manslaughter Act
A post was merged into an existing topic: Seaman’s Manslaughter Act
We don’t know what the intent was. The issue I think is the photo without context ignores some factors, hindsight bias for one.
From Nate Silver’s The Signal and the Noise,
The photo by itself is the top frame, only the problem is seen. Makes it seem more obvious then it was.
The captain would have looked at in in the context of more pressing demands on his time, the bottom frame.
Another factor is the boiling frog thing. Problem developed slowly over time. A third factor is maintaining good housekeeping is an up hill battle. That heap of cords is there for reason. It’s convenient for the passengers and inconveniencing passengers is contrary to the function of the boat.
BTW - Here is what I bought about 10 of:
All metal, no MOVs (surge suppressor parts) to catch on fire, rated for 15 amps, and a circuit breaker. Yes you can get something like this for $6 in plastic at the Dollar Store, but you get what you pay for.
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Besides the power strips another hazard is the lithium batteries. A sister boat, the Vision had a battery fire about a year before the Conception fire.
One of the purposes of company SMS is so the entire fleet can use lessons learned on other boats.
The airline industry has been aware of the danger of lithium-ion batteries and has followed FAA guidelines that prohibit their carriage in cargo holds because of the risk of fire if they come into contact with metals or other batteries. The Conception’s operators were apparently unaware and the CG didn’t raise the alarm until after the tragedy.
https://safety4sea.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/USCG-CVC-PL-20-03_Carriage-Of-Lithium-Ion-Batteries-On-Small-Passenger-Vessels-2020_10.pdf
‘Battery charging should be restricted to regularly occupied spaces or other spaces with continuous monitoring such as smoke detection.
Charging stations should be single outlet use without linking or combining together multiple power strips or extension cords (“daisy chains”).
Lithium-powered devices and batteries should be removed from the charger once they are fully charged.’
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Blaming the captain is pretty much the only way to trigger insurance coverage for the victims. It’s the same reason the captain and chief can be crushed by a big spill.
I don’t believe that there is going to be a lack of motivation to place the blame on the captain in this case.
Blaming the Captain for this lithium battery triggered fire on a poorly designed and negligently USCG inspected boat is absurd.
The Captain on a small recreational dive boat simply does what the owners tell him to , at small wages, or he is promptly fired, and the owner shouts “next” to the line of wannabe captains with 100 ton licenses waiting outside the door. The captain has zero authority over anything that might cost the owner a few extra dollars.
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In our fleet, we did review and replace old and unapproved power strips over the past several months. Come to think of this, I did the same in my own home, and put my expensive electronics on a small UPS mini tower with a dozen outlets (half on the battery backup). Pricing a second one. You can buy one for a couple hundred dollars. depends on capacity and features you want
An important thing to note- surge protectors aren’t really for high draw items like microwaves, refrigerators and so forth. They should be on their own outlet.
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5 posts were split to a new topic: Washing Machine Maintenance Aboard
Unfortunately the USCG and the Stae attorney general do not agree with your point of view. And the laws clearly hold the Captain accountable.