# Fire Wires on Tankers: The Safety Control That Became the Hazard - The DeepDraft

**URL:** <https://forum.gcaptain.com/t/fire-wires-on-tankers-the-safety-control-that-became-the-hazard-the-deepdraft/77090>\
**Category:** Professional Mariner Forum\
**Tags:** tanker-safety, etops, fire-wire, terminal-safety\
**Created:** [August 27, 2026, 7:20am UTC](https://forum.gcaptain.com/t/fire-wires-on-tankers-the-safety-control-that-became-the-hazard-the-deepdraft/77090 "2026-08-27T07:20:21Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Raghu\_Sharma](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.gcaptain.com/raghu_sharma/32/71148_2.png) [@Raghu\_Sharma](https://forum.gcaptain.com/u/Raghu_Sharma)\
**Post date:** [August 27, 2026, 7:20am UTC](https://forum.gcaptain.com/t/fire-wires-on-tankers-the-safety-control-that-became-the-hazard-the-deepdraft/77090/1 "2026-08-27T07:20:21Z")

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> **[Fire Wires on Tankers: The Safety Control That Became the Hazard - The DeepDraft](https://thedeepdraft.com/2026/08/24/fire-wires-on-tankers-safety-control-became-hazard/)**
>
> Fire wires were once treated as tanker safety readiness. Their injury record and limited practical value now raise a harder question: are they control, or legacy risk?

I have rigged fire wires since my cadet days and have seen someone injured while handling one. Yet, after decades of use, I could find no documented case of a fire wire actually being used in an emergency.

Ships will continue complying wherever terminals require them, but the safety case deserves another look. Should emergency tow-off now move towards safer, engineered arrangements?

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**Author:** ![DirtSailor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f1d935/32.png) [@DirtSailor](https://forum.gcaptain.com/u/DirtSailor)\
**Post date:** [August 28, 2026, 3:06pm UTC](https://forum.gcaptain.com/t/fire-wires-on-tankers-the-safety-control-that-became-the-hazard-the-deepdraft/77090/2 "2026-08-28T15:06:09Z")

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The whole notion of fire wires to pull the ship off a berth begs the question - to what purpose? [Are they going to tow it outside the environment?](https://youtu.be/5URfXEZoR5U?is=YWg_TZ3UIyw0a3ba) If the ship _is_ on fire, is hauling it out of reach of shore firefighters, the international shore connection, and either trapping the crew on the ship or preemptively abandoning it a better option than staying tied up?

Also, I liked your article about the difference between bonding and insulation/isolation. I hadn’t recognized that gap in my knowledge until I read that and then did some more research and asked some questions of some terminal operators.