A cruise ship explosion in Dunedin that resulted in the death of a crew member two years ago was caused by inadequate inspection standards regarding nitrogen cylinders, a newly released report suggests.
The Transport Accident Investigation Commission, or TAIC, published its report today on the February 2017 Port Chalmers accident, on board the passenger cruise ship Emerald Princess.
The vessel had arrived from Sydney and was nine days into a trip around New Zealand when the incident occurred.
The inquiry report highlights a lack of global minimum standards for inspection, testing and rejecting pressure cylinders for stored energy systems on lifeboat launching installations – a system common on cruise ships.
The Chief Investigator of Accidents, Captain Tim Burfoot, said the ship’s crew were re-pressurising the gas cylinders after maintenance when the cylinder burst and fatally injured a nearby crew member.
“The nitrogen cylinder burst at below normal working pressure because its casing had corroded to about 30 per cent of original thickness,” Mr Burfoot said.
A person died after a gas bottle reportedly exploded on board a cruise ship near Dunedin. (Source: Other)
“The failed cylinder and several others in the system were not fit for purpose, despite having been surveyed recently, and should not have been in service.”
In its report, the Commission also highlights the issue that technicians who were authorised to conduct mandatory annual and five-yearly inspections of lifeboat-launching installations were not required to have specific training and certification for inspecting any stored energy-release systems and their associated pressure cylinders.
“The wider issue is the lack of global minimum standards for inspection, testing and rejecting pressure cylinders for stored energy systems on lifeboat launching installations. So there is wide variation in, and sometimes inadequate, standards applied by flag state administrations, classification societies and authorised service providers,” Mr Burfoot said.
In the report, TAIC recommended the manufacturer of the lifeboat launching system both improve training, and that Maritime New Zealand raise with the International Maritime Organisation the urgent global need for adequate minimum standards for the inspection, testing and rejection of pressure vessels that are part of stored energy systems.
An earlier interim report by the Commission, published in May 2017, made recommendations regarding the condition and checking of similar installations. The ship’s operator took immediate safety actions to prevent similar accidents on its ships.
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