Death sparks alert for rusty cylinders

The death of a cruise ship worker after a nitrogen cylinder burst has prompted a warning to the sector.

Allan Allarde Navales, 32, died when the corroded cylinder exploded while the Bermudaflagged Emerald Princess was berthed at Dunedin’s Port Otago on February 9, 2017.

The Transport Accident Investigation Commission (TAIC), in a final report released yesterday, found the nitrogen cylinder burst at below its normal working pressure, as severe corrosion had reduced its wall to about 30 per cent of its original thickness.

‘‘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,’’ chief investigator of accidents Captain Tim Burfoot said in a statement.

The investigation into the incident also found there was urgent need for global standards for maintaining, inspecting, testing and replacing the high pressure cylinders on board ships.

An interim report, published in May 2017, prompted warnings for the cruise industry over corroded cylinders, which could pose a ‘‘significant danger to seafarers and passengers’’.

TAIC has since made two additional recommendations: for the manufacturer to improve training for surveyors, and for Maritime NZ to raise internationally the implications for not having adequate minimum standards for the inspection, testing and rejection of pressured vessels that are part of stored energy systems. ‘‘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,’’ Burfoot said.

‘‘So there is wide variation in, and sometimes inadequate, standards applied by flag state administrations, classification societies and authorised service providers.’’

The incident

Following maintenance, the crew were re-pressurising the compressed nitrogen cylinders used for lowering lifeboats, when one of the bottles burst and fatally injured Navales, who was standing nearby. Remains of the burst cylinder were recovered, along with the other three cylinders from the same frame.

The top of the burst cylinder was never found, having possibly been ejected into the sea.

Late last year, the Dunedin District Court heard Navales’ Filipino family was struggling after his death and lived in poverty without his NZ$37,000 salary.

Princess Cruise Line Ltd was charged under the Maritime Transport Act with causing or permitting a maritime product (the pressurised nitrogen cylinder), to be maintained or serviced in a manner that caused unnecessary danger or risk to other people.

The maximum fine is $100,000. The company was likely to pay more in compensation to Navales’ family, with the court’s decision reserved.

The company has since replaced 800 cylinders across the fleet.