Independent journal on economy and transport policy
15:42 GMT+2
CENTRO INTERNAZIONALE STUDI CONTAINERS
ANNO XXXVIII - Numero FEBBRAIO 2020
TRANSPORT AND ENVIRONMENT
DNV GL awards new fire safety notation to MSC containerships
DNV GL has awarded a new class notation to reduce the risk of
fire onboard containerships to Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC),
with the notation already implemented on the 23,000-teu MSC Gulsun.
The new notation is targeted exclusively towards containerships,
and designed around a function-based approach for enhanced safety
level beyond present SOLAS requirements.
"In shipping, we must always have safety at the forefront
of our thinking," said Knut Orbeck-Nilssen, ceo of DNV GL -
Maritime.
"As we move forward in design and in operation, becoming
more sustainable and more efficient, safety must still underpin
every decision. This new notation enables owners and operators to
work with yards and designers to take advantage of new technology,
in a way that suits their requirements and mitigates fire risk,"
he said.
Applicable to both newbuildings and ships in operation, the
notation is set up in a modular way. Owners can decide on the set of
qualifiers best suited to their safety objectives and then choose
the most efficient measures and technologies to reach these
objectives.
Classification society DNV GL said it can support hazard
assessment and ensure that targeted functions are fulfilled.
Giuseppe Gargiulo, head of newbuildings at MSC, said:
"Containerships have grown much larger in recent years and the
volume of cargo carried on deck has expanded exponentially.
Container fires, especially with the volume of cargo now being
carried, can present a substantial risk to the safety of the crew,
cargo and the vessel.
"This is why MSC decided to install new dual-tower
fire-fighting system with high-capacity pumps to further enhance the
safety of seafarers onboard and protect cargo carried across the
whole deck of the ship," Gargiulo said.
The MSC Gulsun is the world's first to use on-deck firefighting
monitors - fixed water cannons to slow and stop the spread of fire
by cooling, which have a reach of more than 100 metres.
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