Maritime stakeholders under the aegis of the Nigerian Association of Master Mariners (NAMM) have revealed that illegalities in shipping business is aiding fire outbreak onboard vessels. This is even as the group warned that more vessels might go the way of MV ORC IV if the illegalities remain unchecked.
It would be recalled that on the 6th of February, 2019, a vessel by the name MV ORC IV caught fire while on anchorage at Bonny waters, leading to fire outbreak onboard the vessel which endangered the lives of the crew. Also, on Jan. 3, fire broke out on containers aboard Hapag-Lloyd’s Yantian Express off Canada’s eastern coast, forcing an evacuation of its 22-member crew. The latest blaze came on March 10, 2019 when a nearly 31,000-ton combined container and automobile carrier, Grande America owned by Grimaldi Lines sank after catching fire in the Bay of Biscay off the eastern coast of France, taking more than 2,000 cars that included luxury Audi and Porsche models to the seafloor.
Speaking to the Nigerian Tribune exclusively, President of NAMM, Captain Tajudeen Alao blamed illegalities in shipping for massive fire outbreak onboard vessels. According to Captain Alao, “We have what is called the IMPG Code. IMPG Code is an International Maritime Organisation (IMO) code for storage, parking and taking care of dangerous goods onboard vessels. There are technical problems and there are human errors when we talk of fire outbreak on vessels at sea or at anchorage.
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“In the last 20 to 30 years, IMO rules have insisted that materials used for beddings or other things onboard vessels should be non-combustible. However, in this part of the world, during repairs or reconstruction of vessels, operators use the materials that they can source for in the markets which are always different from the original material that came with the vessel.
“This is common with the fishing trawlers, when they are creating extra spaces or cabin for additional crew onboard, they always use wooding materials that they buy from the market for these purposes. And there are cargoes that are inflammable, like hydrocarbon, which can lead to fire outbreak with just an ordinary spark. So when there are combustible materials onboard the vessels, an ordinary spark will definitely lead to a fire outbreak.”
On regulation, the NAMM president called for stricter enforcement on the part of the regulators. “Many of these combustible materials are brought onboard illegally. There is need for more awareness, education and enforcement on the part of the regulators. The Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) needs to be stricter with many of the fishing trawlers. Many of their extra cabins, beddings are done with combustible materials, and it requires just a spark for these vessels to catch fire at sea or at anchorage,” Capt. Alao added.
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