Firefighters have gained the upper hand after more than three days battling the fire aboard the 'Iron Chieftain' at Port Kembla. Its belly was now full of water blasted in at a rate of 100 litres per second at the height of the firefighting effort. The Fire and Rescue NSW had a breakthrough late on June 20, as a vast quantity of expanding foam appeared to have its intended effect, seeping down into the smouldering mass and cooling temperatures in the hold. In the afternoon of June 21, firefighters were keeping watch over two hot spots, guarding against re-ignition. This operation will probably continue overnight until they are confident there was no sign of fire or any heat on the ship. It was too soon to calculate the cost of the operation, or to answer the question of who will foot the bill. The fire was believed to have begun on the ship’s in-built conveyor belt, then spread to the hold as a load of the steel-making ingredient dolomite was being offloaded in the early hours of June 18. The material did not fuel the blaze, rather it took hold in the ship’s rubber linings and gasses, rendering the hold a smouldering mass. The below-deck environment was considered too unsafe for crews, which fought the fire from the deck and from the wharf, using ladder platforms. The emergency posed no threat to the environment as all the water and foam used to fight the blaze remained trapped in the ship. The Environmantal Protection Authority was monitoring the emergency. Experts were called in to advise how much water the Iron Chieftain could take on without it posing a sinking risk. The weight of the water used roughly replaced that of the offloaded dolomite cargo. The ship will be handed over to investigating police and the Australian Transport Safety Bureau before an assessment can be made on whether the ship is salvagable. Report with photos: https://www.illawarramerc...
WORLD SHIPPING
22 June 2018 - 13:21
Firefighters monitoring two remaining hotspots
Firefighters have gained the upper hand after more than three days battling the fire aboard the 'Iron Chieftain' at Port Kembla
WORLD SHIPPING
22 June 2018 - 13:21
This news 1154 hits received.
EDITOR
SEANEWS TURKEY MARITIME NEWS FROM THE WORLD AND TURKEY
These news may also interest you