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An electrical fault resulted in a fire aboard the Australian bulk cement carrier Goliath, in August 1997, according to a report released today by the Marine Incident Investigation Unit of the Department of Transport and Regional Services.
The ship was berthed in Devonport, Tasmania, when an automatic fire alarm, triggered by a smoke detector in the ship's transformer room, alerted the ship's staff. Two engineers who went to the engine room found that the alarm had been initiated by smoke entering the transformer room through a grille to the main switchboard. Smoke had begun to build up rapidly and they quickly escaped from the immediate area of the fire.
The Master reported the fire to Devonport Harbour Control requesting the help of the Tasmanian Fire Service and the first fire appliance was at the scene within seven minutes. With the assistance of the ship's crew the fire was extinguished within 20 minutes using CO2 and dry powder extinguishers.
The seat of the fire was found to be the air circuit breaker on number 2 generator. It was removed and cooled with water.
Examination of the circuit breaker indicated that a fault of the centre pole caused it to overheat. However, the reason for the overheating could not be established.
The report also examines the response to the fire by the crew of Goliath. In common with experience with other ship-board fires, the limited number of self contained breathing apparatus is highlighted by the report.
Copies of the report can be obtained from:
Marine Incident Investigation Unit
GPO Box 594
Canberra ACT 2601
Telephone: (02) 6274 6088
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