Inseyandra - Bow-thruster short-circuit sets stowed kit alight: Inseyandra
Minutes after leaving her Portsmouth berth, gear stowed around the 14 m charter yacht Inseyandra's bow-thruster motor shorted and caught fire; the ten crew put it out and diverted, no one hurt.
What happened.
Soon after leaving her Portsmouth berth on 16 April 2005, a smoke alarm sounded in the forward cabin of the 14 m coded charter yacht Inseyandra, ten aboard. Spare sails and kit stowed around the bow-thruster motor had displaced a metal cover onto a power terminal; using the thruster caused a short circuit that set the gear alight. The crew put the fire out with a dry-powder extinguisher and diverted to a marina. No one was hurt.
Shortly after leaving her marina berth in the Portsmouth Harbour area on 16 April 2005, the smoke alarm sounded in the forward cabin of Inseyandra, an MCA-coded 14-metre charter sailing yacht with ten crew aboard. Spare sails and other combustible material had been stowed around the bow-thruster motor, and this had displaced a metal cover so that it made contact with one of the motor's power terminals. When the bow thruster was used, arcing from the resulting short circuit ignited the surrounding kit. The crew extinguished the fire with a dry-powder extinguisher and the yacht headed for another nearby marina; there were no injuries and damage was minor. The Chief Inspector of Marine Accidents wrote to the Maritime and Coastguard Agency recommending that certifying authorities for coded vessels be alerted to the accident, and to maritime bodies and publishers to spread the lessons, which were also addressed in an MAIB Safety Digest article.
What it teaches.
- 1Don't stow anything around electrical machinery. Spare sails and kit packed around the bow-thruster motor displaced a metal cover onto a power terminal, and using the thruster arced and set it all alight. Keep motors, terminals and battery spaces clear — they need ventilation and isolation, not a locker stuffed with combustibles.
- 2A smoke alarm buys the minutes that save the boat. The forward-cabin alarm sounded shortly after the fire started, giving the crew time to act before it could spread. Fit smoke detectors in cabins and machinery spaces, and test them before you sail.
- 3Carry the right extinguisher where you can reach it. The crew knocked this fire down with a dry-powder extinguisher and diverted to a marina. Mount serviced extinguishers near exits and likely fire sites, and know which type to grab for an electrical fire.
- 4Learn an unfamiliar boat's systems before you slip lines — especially a charter. This coded charter yacht had ten aboard, few of whom would guess a bow thruster could ignite stowed gear. Find the electrics, isolators and extinguishers, and check what's stowed where, before you leave the berth.
Where this comes from.
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