The UK P & I club has touched on the issue of sudden loss to power due to the introduction of low sulphur fuels that are now mandatory in certain offshore areas in their latest Risk Focus bulletin. In the document, the causes of sudden loss of power under these circumstances are examined and procedures are recommended in order to mitigate the effects of this phenomenon, which has caused a number of offshore accidents in the last few months.
According to the bulletin, engine failure and sudden power loss now account for more than 7 percent of their total third party claims, particularly with regard to property damage. The estimated cost of these incidents runs to millions of dollars. Vessels that have suddenly lost power also lose control, and there has been extensive damage to bridges, berths, locks and ships caused by this event. In addition, numerous collision and grounding claims can also be attributed to sudden loss of power.
Engine failure tends to occur at critical times in a ship’s journey, including leaving and entering a port. At this time, the stable loads on board a ship are disrupted, leading to imbalance and power failure. In addition, there is some evidence to suggest that the recent change for some vessels to a fuel lower in sulphur has aggravated the problem and is causing numerous engine black outs. There has been a marked increase in power cut incidents since sulphur rule regulations have been enforced in European and UK waters earlier this year.
According to the P and I Club’s Power Loss bulletin, there have been reports of entire waterways being obstructed due to powerless ships damaging bridges or locks. In addition, numerous ships have had to be repaired following collisions or groundings that can also be attributed to power loss. Evidence was collected by the club over the last twelve months by in house assessors, who provided a questionnaire to crew members while conducting routine ship inspections. The questionnaire was designed to investigate problems concerning power on all ships that fall under the club’s jurisdiction.
Around three quarters of crew members questioned reported power outages with failure of on deck machinery such as cranes or mooring winches. In addition, starting the motor of a large vessel was reported to cause circuit breakers to trip, leading to global power blackouts.
The Risk Focus booklet contains recommendations to decrease the risk of accidents caused by this all too common occurrence, as well as measures on how to prevent black outs from occurring at all.
