Further Work Needed on Methanol Bunker Fire Safety: Survitec

by Ship & Bunker News Team
Friday September 6, 2024

Further work is needed on fire safety arrangements for methanol as a bunker fuel, according to survival technology solutions company Survitec.

The company has published a white paper on methanol fire safety after carrying out a study earlier this year, it said in an emailed statement this week.

"The safety study conducted by Survitec found two factors were key to putting out a methanol engine room fire: the volume of water released under pressure and the discharge pattern of the water," the company said in the statement.

"This required adjustments to the water pump supply and the water mist nozzle's spacing and placement height to achieve the right coverage to completely extinguish the fire."

Methanol is on the way to taking up a significant minority of bunker fuel demand, with the container segment in particular ordering large numbers of methanol-fuelled ships. But its low flashpoint and invisible flames when burning will require significant training and new fire prevention equipment for it to be widely used as bunker fuel.

Ship & Bunker News Team
To contact the editor responsible for this story email us at editor@shipandbunker.com