14 Dec Fire on boat off coast of Yemen
The UK Maritime operations announced at dawn on Tuesday that on one of their ships off the coast of Yemen, a small fire event took place.
“All crew reported as safe. International Search and Rescue informed,” reported the agency, regarding the fire.
The blaze began inside the lower levels of the boat, whilst it was smooth sailing, “in the vicinity of the Bab Al-Mandab, 15 nm west of port Mokha, Yemen (in Taiz Governorate, south-west of Yemen.”
No cause has been given for the fire, with the UKMTO stating “Vessels in the vicinity are advised to exercise caution and report any suspicious activity to the UKMTO.”
In the event of a fire on a boat such as the one used by the UK Maritime Operations, wind flow control is essential. Safety doors are engaged and on-board sprinkler systems douse the fire in an attempt to save as much as possible.
The classification of the fire is quickly identified, and alarms are raised throughout the ship.
With the fire doused by sprinklers, smoke is then ushered through vents, or moved through security doors. Meanwhile, non-fire-fighting personnel are moved to designated safety zones.
With the fire event taken care of, systems are rebooted and the ship is assessed for further fires or damages, before returning back to a port for engineering works.
In any fire event, it is the wellbeing of individuals and the safety of the crew which takes the highest priority.