On 1 October 2009 Sea Charente loaded 1900 tonnes of animal feed wheat pellets in Ghent, Belgium. During loading the 300 watt hold lights, which were an unapproved modification carried out under the vessel’s previous ownership, were switched on.
While on passage to Glasgow, smoke was seen to escape from the cargo hold’s starboard after ventilation terminal. Soon afterwards the hot hold lights were found to be still switched on.
A 4-man Maritime Incident Response Group, MIRG, from East Sussex Fire and Rescue Service was subsequently transferred by helicopter to the vessel to assess and monitor the incident. The hold and adjacent compartment temperatures were found to be normal and the vessel made her own way into Southampton. Part of the cargo was removed while a fire-fighting team from the Hampshire Fire Rescue Service was in attendance. A small amount of smouldering cargo was doused down, which was found in the vicinity of the hold’s starboard after halogen light, which was fitted inside the lower section of the ventilation trunking.
Actions taken:
The vessel’s technical manager has been advised to:
- Seek advice regarding the suitability of the hold lighting system to ensure it complies with the classification society’s rules.
- Introduce suitable checks to ensure that the approved hold lighting system is switched off when the hold is unattended.
The technical manager has:
- Instructed its fleet to remove all hold lights which were not installed during build.
Source: MAIB Preliminary Report
Note: The London P&I Club reported a similar incident in its StopLoss Bulletin for September 2005 and recommends: “Standard measures will include the removal of fuses or the pulling of circuit breakers immediately before grain or other potentially combustible bulk cargoes are loaded. If additional lighting is required, it
is standard practice to employ portable cluster lamps hung over the side of the hatch coamings.”
