Active and passive fire protection of key assets

The early design stage of a ships life is crucial to negate the likelihood of, and effects from, an on-board fire. Innovative materials, aggressive firefighting tactics and compartmentalising a ships design drastically reduce the chance of a fire spreading and damaging critical infrastructure.

The 5th Annual Naval Damage Control meeting will discuss active and passive fire protection from design stage to on board response in a dedicated Focus Day taking place on 3 October 2017.

Navies we’ve spoken to are actively considering how to integrate effective passive fire protection into the design of future vessels. The integration of automated systems has reduced crew sizes, which means in the event of an on-board fire it’s critical the ship’s design can slow the spread of fire to allow onboard crews time to reach the fire and prevent further damage.

Passive fire protection will involve the use of fire-resistant walls, floors, and doors, as well as compartmentalising the ship and installing bulkheads and fire-retardant doors which stop fires spreading to different areas of the ship. Critically, these solutions can be monitored and controlled by integrated platform management systems.

Rear Admiral Cristiano Aliperta, former Italian Permanent Representative to the IMO, was a key investigator into the Norman Atlantic fire which caused 13 official deaths in December 2014. A fire broke out on the car deck and the heat from the fire permeated the entire ship, even starting to melt people's shoes on the reception deck. An international response to the disaster was led by the Italian Coast Guard.

Aliperta will attend Naval Damage Control 2017 to share with delegate the lessons learnt from this disaster, such as the incident response, and the difficulty the ship had in slowing down the fire due to the ship’s structure and cargo. Delegates will also have an opportunity to hear future recommendations, and innovations in passive fire protection systems, which can be applied in future ship designs.

Attendees will also learn about the use of innovative materials and composites from the Italian Navy Training Centre – Taranto, Italian Navy, fire response equipment and strategies from the Netherlands Navy and Lieutenant Commander Matt Steele, Royal Navy demonstrating how the RN's training increases survivability and crew effectiveness through managed live scenarios.

Commanders from nations including; Denmark, Norway, Turkey, Romania, Ireland, Italy, Belgium, New Zealand and Germany have already confirmed their attendance at the fifth Naval Damage Control. With sessions also covering future priorities, training, humanitarian missions, onboard storage, evacuation strategies and much more, download the agenda and register for your free end user pass today.