Call for increased maintenance to prevent engine room fires as risks increase

Braemar SA has warned that a lack of maintenance has led to a significant increase in engine room fires. Graeme Temple, Far East regional director at Braemar SA, said: “Engine room fires remain all too common a problem and during the summer we saw a dramatic increase. Since attending these casualties we found that typically these fires are being caused by volatile vapours impinging on hot surfaces from technical failures that are down to a lack of maintenance and basic routine visual inspection. If we look at the trends recorded during the spring, the Far East team for Braemar SA only attended two fire casualties, so the increase of 150 per cent should be a wake-up call for owners and managers not to neglect regular maintenance, especially on aging vessels and for crews to remember basic watch-keeping practice. It also remains the case that engine failures account for nearly 50 per cent of what we do.”