1.15 Emergency in the engine room

1. Fire

2. Flooding

3. Blockout

4. Oil Spill

5. Injuries

6. Electric Shocks

7. Burns

Fire on board is one of the most dangerous emergencies for a vessel.

A leaky pipe or fuel reservoir and a discarded cigarette may be all a fire needs to ignite. Leaky high-pressure pipes, puddles of fuel or oil and exhaust gases all contribute to the risk of an onboard fire.

A flooding is the result of water ingress onboard and can affect the watertight integrity and finally the stability of the vessel. Its impact may be catastrophic when water enters spaces which are designated as dry areas, such as cargo holds and engine room.

Blackout condition is a scenario on a ship, wherein the main propulsion plant and associate machineries such as boiler, purifier and other auxiliaries stop operating due to failure of power generation system of the ship – Generator and alternator.

Oil spills that happen in rivers, bays and the ocean most often are caused by accidents involving tankers, barges, pipelines, refineries, drilling rigs and storage facilities, but also occur from recreational boats and in marinas. Spills can be caused by: people making mistakes or being careless. equipment breaking.

However, in spite of taking all the necessary precautions, several crew members have lost their lives or suffered permanent injuries as a result of falling/slipping from heights, failure of safety devices, falling inside cargo hold during the inspection, and also due to sheer negligence.

Most common life-threatening Accidents

The most common causes of burn injuries to crew onboard ships may be summarized as follows: Steam and hot fluid burns.

Action to be taken on hearing each type of alarm

General Alarm 

• Rush to muster station with a life jacket, immersion suit, and act according to the vessel’s Muster Lists

• Act as per the emergency explained by the in-charge officer

CO2 alarm

• • In case of CO2 alarm, leave the Engine Room immediately.

Fire Alarm

• • In case of fire, raise the Fire/General alarm as soon as possible. Try to stop fire and if it is not possible, muster according to the Fire Muster List.

Engineer call

• • All Ship Engineers Should assemble in the Engine Control Room

 In the event of the engine room being filled with smoke, even light smoke, the escape routes and doors from the engine room may be obscured, and therefore they should be more clearly indicated.