System failed on boat blaze

A tourist boat that caught fire forcing 60 people to abandon ship off the coast of Whakatāne had an ineffective firefighting system that staff did not know how to use.

The findings were made in a Transport Accident Investigation Commission report released yesterday, two years after the PeeJay V burned to the waterline and sank.

On January 18, 2016, the boat with seven crew and 53 passengers onboard was approaching the Whakatāne Harbour after an all day-excursion to White Island when a fire broke out in the engine room. The blaze quickly took hold.

Crew on board released the fixed CO2 fire extinguisher into the engine room, which suppressed the fire for a short time. But the report said the fire quickly escalated, forcing the skipper to order everyone to abandon the vessel.

‘‘Due to the speed with which the fire gained intensity, several passengers were forced to enter the water without a lifejacket,’’ the report said.

Several vessels in the vicinity responded to the skipper’s distress call. Everyone aboard was eventually transferred to the assisting vessels.

‘‘The crew were not able to access all of the lifejackets on board because of the fire. For the same reason, they were not able to launch the flotation raft that was stored on top of the vessel’s flybridge.’’ The PeeJay V burnt to the waterline and sank.

One crew member suffered from smoke inhalation. No one else was seriously injured.

Due to the lack of physical evidence to work with, the commission was unable to conclusively establish the cause of the fire.

‘‘The commission found that the absence of a fire-detection and automatic-alarm system on the PeeJay V meant the crew had limited warning time and opportunity to respond to the fire and prepare the lifesaving apparatus.’’

The commission also found that the CO2 fire-suppression system, which was supposed to work by displacing the air in the engine room with CO2, was not effective in suppressing the fire.

‘‘This was because air was able to enter the engine room through several openings, including a cable duct that had no means of being closed.’’

The commission also found that the placement of the lifesaving apparel and equipment on board was appropriate.

‘‘The fact that it could not all be accessed highlights the difficulty operators of smaller vessels have in choosing where to locate such equipment.’’