SOFIA - fire on board

Summary

The dry cargo vessel SOFIA had departed from Ustka in northern Poland on the afternoon of 28 November 2024, and was en route to Elleholm in Blekinge. The weather during the evening was windy with rough seas. At around 9 p.m., when the vessel was approximately 35 nautical miles east of Bornholm, an explosion occurred.

The explosion caused extensive damage to the vessel, with parts of the forward mooring deck torn open and the forward bulkhead of the cargo hold landing 30 meters aft in the cargo hold. All five cargo hatch covers were dislodged. Two of them fell into the sea, while the remaining three collapsed into the empty cargo hold. Simultaneously, the vessel suffered an electrical power outage, but the main engine continued to function.

The distress calls made by the crew over VHF radio were only faintly heard by coastal radio stations and nearby vessels. Lyngby Radio in Denmark picked up a distress call and initiated a rescue operation involving several ships and one Danish and one Swedish rescue helicopter. The entire crew was hoisted to safety by the Swedish Maritime Administration's rescue helicopter at 10:47 p.m. The vessel then drifted abandoned until 30 November. No one was physically injured in the incident.

The vessel was towed to Landskrona, where it arrived on 4 December. The damage was so extensive that the vessel was shortly thereafter towed to Denmark and scrapped. The investigation revealed that the explosion was caused by propane gas leaking and igniting in a forward compartment used as a workshop but also for storing propane. Neither the crew nor the shipping company had identified the risks associated with the space being unsuitable for these purposes, lacking ventilation, having inappropriate access routes, and being connected to the cargo hold.

Causes of the accident

The accident was caused by the failure to identify and mitigate the risks associated with storing flammable gas in a space that was unsuitable for the purpose.

The direct cause of the explosion was that propane gas had leaked into an enclosed space and ignited.

Contributing factors to the extensive damage included the fact that the space had a relatively large volume without ventilation openings or similar features, which could have allowed the gas to dissipate before ignition or relieved the pressure from the explosion.

Safety recommendations

SHK submits the following recommendations:

Fiducia Rederi AB is recommended to
• develop its systematic work environment management and safety management system to be able to identify, assess, and implement the necessary protective measures to mitigate the risks that may arise on the shipping company's vessels, when handling hazardous or flammable substances, as well as when using spaces that are hard to access, have inadequate ventilation, or where oxygen deficiency may occur.