General Procedure to Fight Fire on Container Ship in a Terminal:

With tones of highly flammable and hazardous cargo and fuel

oil on board, Container ships are accident prone zones having
high probability of fire accidents. The frequent cargo handling
operations and loading/unloading procedures of hazardous
materials make container ships highly vulnerable to accidents.
Sometimes in spite of taking all safety precautions, accidents
involving fire do take place on tanker ships because of
unprecedented events.
Tacking fire on container ships require strategic planning and
systematic approach, along with the least response time. The
approach to fight fire on board ships would differ according to
the type of the fire, source of fire, and the location of the
ship.Mentioned below is the general action that is taken when
a fire breaks out on a tanker ship while the ship in a terminal.
As stated by the standard rule for emergency situations, the
first thing the container ship personnel must do in case of fire
on board is to raise the alarm by sounding the recognized alarm
signal which consists of a series of long blasts from the ship’s
whistle. Usually, each of this alarm blast is not less than 10
seconds. However, there is a possibility that the terminal
authority might ask the ship to give a locally recognized signal
in case of an emergency. In such cases, the stated emergency
alarm should be raised.
As soon as the signal is sounded, all cargo, bunkering and
ballasting operations, must be stopped by the ship. The main
engine and the steering gear must also be brought to a stand by
position. All other cargo operation equipment for tankers must
also be stopped immediately if they are in use.
Once this is done, the ship’s crew will take the responsibility of
fighting the fire under the leadership of the ship’s captain or
any other officer appointed for the task. The procedure for fire
fighting at the terminal remains the same as that when the ship
is at the sea. An additional team/ group might be formed for
assistance in fire fighting or for disconnecting and arranging
hoses from the manifold. All resources and human efforts
available are used to stop the fire as soon as possible.

If the situation requires, the master of the ship might ask

assistance from the terminal authority. The ship’s fire fighting
team must make a united effort with the professional fire
fighters from the shore to bring the fire under control.

Actions to be taken by the terminal to fight fire on

container ship :
On hearing the emergency alarm from the container ship, the
terminal in-charge would immediately inform the control room.
The control room will sound the terminal fire alarm, inform the
port authority, and commence shutting down of loading,
discharging, bunkering or ballasting procedures immediately
The terminal personnel, according to the severity of the
situation, can also ask the adjacent or nearby ships to shut
down all loading, discharging, bunkering or ballasting
procedures. In order to maintain a level of utmost safety during
emergency situations, the terminal authority might ask nearby
ships to disconnect all their metal arms and hoses and keep
their engines and steering gear ready.
The terminal in-charge, after discussing with the control room
officials, might send professional fire fighters or fire fighting
tugs to assist in the emergency process. The terminal might also
ask outside assistance such as civil fire brigade, medical aids,
rescue launches, police etc. if the situation requires.
Fighting fire on container is not an easy task especially when
the fire is big and has a potent fuel source nearby. The ship and
terminal personnel must work with combined team effort to
bring the fire under control before it becomes a major threat to
the ship and the terminal.