Russian Trawler Fire; Dutch Harbor, AK

Dutch Harbor, AK | 1992-Oct-29

Initial Notification: Last Sunday, Oct. 25, a fire was reported to the Coast Guard, MSO Anchorage, in one of the compartments of the F/V Sotructnichnestvo, a 309 foot Russian fishing trawler/processor in port at Dutch Harbor. 2. The fire developed in a storage compartment where thousands of cardboard boxes are stored, all coated with wax. 3. The vessel has 900 mT of fuel--diesel, heavy oil, hydraulic and lube oil, and has 10 mT of ammonia in a large tank one deck below the compartment of smoldering cardboard. Action: 1. The compartment with the fire was immediately closed off on Sunday reducing the condition to a smoldering mass of cardboard. 2. On Monday, an attempt was made to open the compartment and flood it with water, but the fire flashed back That tack was halted and the compartment was resealed and has remained that way to the present, Thursday night, leaving only smoldering, flameless cardboard. 3. The Coast Guard has contracted Boots and Coots to fight the fire, and they arrived in Dutch Harbor this afternoon, Thursday, Oct. 29. 4. B&C's will evaluate the situation, and on Friday, Oct. 30 will probably attempt to overwhelm the smoldering fire. 5. Considerable concern has been directed to the potential fate of the 10 mT of ammonia which could possibly explosively release if the tank was heated by an out-of-control fire. 6. On Thursday morning, the SSC consulted with a host of players in Seattle-Mass Nir, Ed Overton, Bob, and more, to discuss the situation. Most techniques of cooling the ammonia tank, surrounding it with a non-flammable atmosphere and venting it to the air or water were discussed. USCG district 17.