Classification
- Incident Type: Fire / Explosion
- Severity: High
The BSU classified the occurrence as a very serious marine casualty.
Vessel Details
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Vessel Name | MSC FLAMINIA |
| Vessel Type | Container |
| Flag State | Germany [DE] |
| IMO Number | 9225615 |
| Gross Tonnage | 73235 |
| LOA (m) | 299.99 |
| Breadth (m) | |
| TEU | |
| Year Built | 2001 |
| Crew Size | 23 |
Incident Details
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Date | 2012-07-14 |
| Location | Mid-Atlantic, at 48°13.8′N, 027°57.9′W |
| Coordinates | 48.230000, -27.965000 |
| Region | Atlantic Ocean |
| Fatalities | 3 |
| Injuries | 2 |
| Missing | |
| Direct Damage | Extensive structural fire damage to the vessel and damage to cargo |
Key facts
- MSC Flaminia was carrying 2,876 containers, including 149 declared dangerous-goods containers, from Charleston to Antwerp when a hold-4 smoke alarm activated at 0542 UTC.
- The crew discharged carbon dioxide into the hold at 0642, but a major explosion followed at 0804.
- One person was missing and four were injured immediately after the explosion; two injured people later died and the missing crew member was presumed dead.
- The remaining crew and passengers abandoned the vessel and were taken aboard DS Crown.
- Investigators could not establish the original ignition source; runaway polymerisation of divinylbenzene was assessed as the strongest hypothesis, not a proven cause.
Narrative
MSC Flaminia left Charleston on 8 July 2012 with 23 crew members, two passengers and 2,876 containers aboard. The cargo included 149 containers declared as dangerous goods. At 0542 UTC on 14 July, while the vessel was crossing the Atlantic for Antwerp, a smoke alarm indicated a fire in cargo hold 4. The crew sounded the general alarm, established the closed-down condition and prepared the fixed carbon-dioxide system.
Carbon dioxide was discharged into hold 4 at 0642. The release also activated engine-room safety functions because part of the extinguishing-system piping had been installed incorrectly. The main engine consequently became unavailable while the engineering officers tried to identify and bypass the problem. At 0804, a powerful explosion tore through the cargo-hold area. One crew member was missing and four were seriously injured. The explosion and fire made continued firefighting untenable, and the master ordered the vessel abandoned.
The tanker DS Crown recovered the survivors at about 1100. MSC Flaminia's chief officer died aboard the tanker at about 1400, and another injured crew member later died in a Portuguese hospital. The missing crew member was presumed dead, bringing the final toll to three fatalities and two severe injuries.
A salvage contract was concluded on 14 July, and three tugs were eventually assigned to the casualty. Firefighting, cooling and stabilisation continued at sea while authorities and salvors assessed where the badly damaged vessel could be accommodated. Germany assumed the coordinating initiative on 15 August. After an expert inspection on 28 August, the tow proceeded toward Germany on 2 September. MSC Flaminia was made fast at Wilhelmshaven on 9 September, almost eight weeks after the fire. Unloading and decontamination continued for months, and the vessel departed for repairs in Romania on 15 March 2013.
The prolonged fire destroyed evidence at its point of origin, so the BSU could not establish a definitive ignition source. Expert analysis gave high probability to runaway polymerisation in at least one tank container of divinylbenzene after its temperature-dependent stabiliser was depleted. Heat from nearby diphenylamine cargo may have accelerated that process, and heated dimethylaminoethanol may have triggered the explosion. The report explicitly retained other possible fire sequences.
Sequence of events
| Date/time | Event |
|---|---|
| 2012-07-14 05:42 UTC | A smoke alarm indicated fire in cargo hold 4. |
| 2012-07-14 06:42 UTC | The crew discharged carbon dioxide into the hold. |
| 2012-07-14 08:04 UTC | A major explosion caused fatal and severe injuries. |
| 2012-07-14 about 11:00 UTC | DS Crown recovered the surviving crew and passengers. |
| 2012-08-28 | Experts inspected the stabilised casualty at sea. |
| 2012-09-09 | MSC Flaminia was made fast at Wilhelmshaven. |
| 2013-03-15 | The vessel departed for repairs in Romania. |
Contributing factors
| Factor | Evidence status | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Divinylbenzene polymerisation | Suspected | Experts attributed high probability to depletion of the cargo's stabiliser followed by runaway polymerisation and a chain reaction among three tank containers. |
| Dangerous-goods classification | Confirmed finding | The report found that the IMDG classification did not adequately represent divinylbenzene's polymerisation and temperature-control hazards. |
| Delayed cargo-hold response | Confirmed finding | One hour elapsed between the alarm and carbon-dioxide discharge, although the BSU could not determine whether the delay changed the outcome. |
| CO2 system installation error | Confirmed finding | Incorrect piping caused engine-room shutdown functions to activate during the hold discharge, making the main engine unavailable. |
| Limited firefighting capability | Confirmed finding | The vessel lacked a fixed water-based system for cooling and controlling a deep cargo-hold fire. |
Investigation
Germany's Federal Bureau of Maritime Casualty Investigation investigated the fire, explosion, emergency response, dangerous-goods carriage and port-of-refuge process in report 255/12. The BSU concluded that destruction at the fire's source prevented a definitive causal finding. Its expert evidence supported divinylbenzene runaway polymerisation as the leading explanation while preserving other possible scenarios. The report also addressed shortcomings in cargo-fire equipment, dangerous-goods classification, crew preparation and European coordination for ships needing a place of refuge.
References
Related
- MSC FLAMINIA
- Atlantic Ocean
- Fire
- Explosion
- Federal Bureau of Maritime Casualty Investigation (BSU)
- Fire / Explosion