Fatal engine room fire on suction dredger Arco Avon
- Safety Flash
- Published on 20 September 2016
- Generated on 20 February 2026
- IMCA SF 24/16
- 2 minute read
The UK Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) has published a report into a fatal fire in the engine room of the suction dredger, Arco Avon, in August 2015.
What happened?
A fire broke out in the engine room while the vessel was loading a sand cargo approximately 12 miles offshore. The vessel’s third engineer was badly burned in the fire and later died as a result of his injuries. As a consequence of the fire, which was extinguished following activation of the COâ‚ smothering system, the vessel lost all power and remained at anchor with its dredging equipment partially deployed for 9 days until it could be taken under tow and delivered to a repair facility.
The MAIB investigation concluded that:
- The third engineer was attempting to repair a failed fuel pipe when fuel, under pressure in the pipe, ignited.
- No one else on board was aware of a failed fuel pipe or that the third engineer had apparently decided to repair it.
- The third engineer was using a portable angle grinder to access the repair site and had underestimated the risk of doing so.
- Possible contributing factors to the third engineer’s underestimation of risk were that he had neither carried out a formal risk assessment nor sought a permit to work before starting the repair.
The full MAIB report can be downloaded at gov.uk/maib-reports/fire-in-the-engine-room-on-the-suction-dredger-arco-avon-with-loss-of-1-life
Related Safety Flashes
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IMCA SF 08/15
2 June 2015
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IMCA SF 10/14
30 June 2014
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