Marine Transportation Incidents
Departments
ON HAZARDOUS MATERIALS
As pointed out in last month’s column, the transportation of hazardous materials by water can present some very significant problems. To underscore some of these problems, I will discuss two major marine incidents that have happened in the past. Fire departments with port facilities or water traffic in their districts should use these as examples of the types of incidents they can be faced with.
The explosion and fire that destroyed the Liberian Tankship SS Sansinena occurred in Los Angeles harbor on December 17,1976, at about 7:38 p.m. The explosion killed eight crew members and a security guard. There were 22 injuries to crew members and over 100 civilians required medical treatment.
Total loss from the explosion was estimated at $21.6 million, which included damage to 260 other vessels as well as to residences and commercial establishments on shore. Some of the shore facilities that were damaged were more than three miles away. The ship’s berth was severely damaged and was out of service for more than 16 months.
The Sansinena had been taking on fuel for its engines after unloading its cargo. All systems were operating normally when the explosion occurred. The explosion caused an estimated 22,000 barrels of bunker fuel oil to enter the harbor from the vessel and from a broken shoreside pipeline.
Eyewitnesses described the explosion as an initial flash that erupted into a yellow flame at the main deck level, followed by a much larger red-orange fireball. As reported in the National Transportation Safety Board Report on the incident, “One witness testified that he saw a flame moving very fast from the pier near the loading arms to the Sansinena’s deck.”
The Los Angeles Fire Department arrived on the scene by 7:45 p.m. However, debris scattered throughout the berth area made it impossible to get close to the scene. It was then necessary to stretch about 700 feet of hose by hand. Because of the seriousness of the fire as well as the medical needs of the injured, there were 240 firefighters at the scene. After more than 2 hours of firefighting efforts, the fire was declared under control.
Lessons that fire departments should consider include:
- planning both land and water access to the docking facilities,
- preparing for handling a large number of medical injuries,
- developing the logistics for handling the large number of personnel needed to suppress the fire, as well as for handling a long duration incident,
- planning for the large volume of water needed,
- pre-planning the type of vessels that use the port or use those waterways that pass through the community,
- developing techniques for preventing pollution of the environment, particularly from contaminated water.
A different type of incident occurred on November 13, 1975, in Greenville, MS. A tank barge that was undergoing repair exploded at 12:45 p.m. As a result of the explosion, three employees of the repair company and a marine chemist were killed and two crew members were severely injured.
The tank barge, which was constructed in 1973, was unmanned, nonself-propelled, with a double steel hull. On its last trip, it had carried Number 6 residual fuel oil, which is classified as a combustible liquid. During its three preceding voyages, it had carried crude oil which is much more volatile.
The repairs to the tank involved a welding operation that was begun without sufficient purging of the residue. Therefore, residual crude oil was contained in various areas of the storage tanks.
The welding operation began about 12:40 p.m. Almost immediately, sparks entered a void through the bulkhead crack. These sparks vaporized and ignited the cargo residues within the void. Two crew members attempted to extinguish the fire with a portable, hand-held extinguisher, but were unsuccessful and severely burned. As these two injured men ran along the deck, three other employees on the deck also ran aft. Before the five could leave the vessel, the explosion occurred.
At the time of the explosion, there were three men and the marine chemist at work inside another tank. These four did not escape. The explosion, followed by a large fire that was fueled by the residue in the tanks, engulfed the forward portion of the barge.
The fire was fought from the water side by a Coast Guard cutter, an Army Corps of Engineers’ workboat, and a commercial vessel. On the land side, the local fire department handled the firefighting responsibilities.
The cutter used foam for the interior firefighting and kept the outside of the hull cool with a large volume of water. The other boats assisted with the cooling efforts as did the fire department companies. The fire was controlled in one and a half hours.
The National Transportation Safety Board reported a number of problems that would be applicable to all fire departments with this type of facility:
- inadequate firefighting equipment,
- insufficient amount of proper extinguishing agent available,
- inability of the various firefighting agencies to communicate,
- lack of area-wide contingency plans for coordinating firefighting efforts,
- development of a resource list for handling this type of incident.
Fire departments must be prepared to handle incidents involving barges, tankers, or freighters. These incidents can escalate very quickly and overwhelm local resources. Fire officers must plan, in advance, how they will get the resources and equipment to cope with a marine incident.
