Recently, Marine Safety Forum published a Safety Alert on an incident onboard a ship where upon inspection it was discovered that CO2 bottles for the engine room department fire suppression system still had their safety pins in.
What happens if CO2 safety pin not removed ?
According to marine forum inspector publication, the CO2 safety pins had been inserted at the start of the docking as per normal practice. After the vessel left the drydock and was moored, a 3rd party was scheduled to test the fire suppression system.
The safety pins remained in place during these tests and the 3rd party left them in place while testing the CO2 heads. Following the tests,the company claimed the system was back in service, but it became apparent that the pins were not removed and were missed during pre-sailing checks.
Upon investigation, it was found that the work on the system had been conducted without a Permit to Work, which is required by the vessel owner’s procedures for complex tasks involvingthe CO2 system. If a Permit to Work had been issued, the failure to remove the pins would likely have been caught during the system inspection and permit closure.
Main lessons to learn
- Work on safety-critical equipment, including that done by 3rd parties,should always becovered under a Permit to Work.
- All vessels with CO2 systems were instructed to conduct a spot check to ensure the pins were removed and the system is ready for immediate use.
- Any work performed on safety-critical equipment by 3rd parties must be verified inservice by a senior officer.
- Work on safety-critical equipment, including that done by 3rd parties,should always becovered under a Permit to Work.
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