Fire Safety at Sea

No single volume could cover the scope of the subject of fire protection, indeed the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) documents alone occupy many reams of regulatory material. This MEP is comprised of selected material of primary interest or necessity for all persons involved in maritime affairs, together with references for those seeking further information.
The aim of this book is to supplement information on the equipment and systems found on board ships, with a background to the need for their introduction, development and experience in their use. Reference has been made to specific ship casualties, therefore, the name and nationality of the ship casualty has been included. Many Flag States and shipping companies would prefer not to see their casualties mentioned, therefore, the policy adopted in this publication is to use names only when the details of the casualty are in the public domain, e.g. because some State (not necessarily the Flag State) has published a report or a Public Inquiry has been held. By learning from past failures, future accidents may be prevented. It is hoped that this type of explanatory information will stimulate interest and provide an understanding of the many regulations being retrospectively applied to ships in service.
Structural fire protection has been given particular emphasis since its principles and limitations appear to be less well understood than other shipboard systems. This situation probably exists because, being a passive system, it is not actively used by personnel and also because many existing cargo ships have minimal structural fire protection.