William A. Cassar Torreggiani, Sliema
What caused the Simshar explosion
I have been following with interest the Simshar incident through The Times and have come to some conclusions based on the published details. Now that the inquiry has been concluded, and having read the results thereof, I find it hard to accept the court experts' opinion that the explosion was due to a leakage from an LPG cylinder. It is normal practice on all seagoing vessels to store gas cylinders either on the roof of the wheelhouse or on deck and never in the engine room, a fact which I have been made to understand in my practice at sea.
Simon Bugeja, the Simshar's owner and captain, declared under oath that, while at sea, he had gone down to check the engine room and found an obnoxious smell he had never experienced, when suddenly an explosion occurred.
When Mr Bugeja entered the engine room the obnoxious and explosive sulphuric gases must have been balanced by the air entering the engine room and exploded. This should have been considered by the experts helping in the inquiry.
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Pule' Carmel
Jul 27th 2009, 14:04
So many things to choose from:
LPG, Loss of cooling water to main engines hence overheating, glowing turbos, crankcase explosions, diesel leaks on glowing turbos, battery overcharging hence gassing, electric circuit failures, overheated generators, glands not receiving water for lubrication and cooling,
Leaking of oil from inlet valve stems or turbo oil leak into cylinders causing engine overrun and drastic failure,
Some time ago a supply boat was burnt due to the fact that the lose PLASTIC fuel lines ran to close to the hotexhaust and turbo locality. In Kalkara I saw fibre glass 10 metre boat disappear in 10 minutes due to a smalll explosion and burning.
Any body on a boat, is sitting on a bomb. That risk must be balanced by the constant inspections of the surroundings above and below decks. and even below the water.
I knew of a situation when a plastic sheet got sucked close to the cooling water inlets and all THREE engines ceased up due to overheating. So even the security of having three engines does fail on occassions.
To boat owners who are underway, INSPECT your boat every hour. When anchored with lights and cooking going on, well do be careful.
Herbert Guillaumier
Jul 27th 2009, 13:37
Paul Sciberras in his comment states that he is perplexed how no debris or fragments of the boat were found. And what about the fish caught? The news on the day of the disaster said that the explosion took place on the Simshar's return to shore after the catch. Or am I mistaken?
J.Calleja
Jul 27th 2009, 12:55
What type of explosive sulfuric gases are you referring to?
Tthere is no way that sulphuric gases can be released from LPG gas cylinders- which are solely butane with minimal amounts of sulphur compounds (known as thiols or mecaptans) which are used as additives for smell detections since butane is odourless. The hydrocarbons released are explosive.
If there was a leak from an LPG cylinder, there are multiple sources of ignition in the engine room and since the engine room is not air tight, oxygen presence is as in normal atmosphere, hence the explosion happened not because the door was opened but because there was everything ideal for such an explosion to take place. However explosive gases(e.g. leak from an LGP cylinder) could still accumulate in such areas if extractors are absent or are not operational. Safety procedures will not allow an LPG cylinder to be located in an engine room!
All those that suffered are in our prayers!
v.pulis
Jul 27th 2009, 11:39
Did the explosion occur while Simon was in the engine room? if so did Simon have any burns on his body resulting from the fireball which must have engulfed the engine room?
The foreign worker who died in the accident had burns on his body. Where was he when the explosion took place?
paulsciberras
Jul 27th 2009, 10:44
The mystery and the cardinal point of this incident is,that no debri or fragments were found,when every fishing boat is loaded with floatable items such as pieces of jablo, floatable fenders and wood of course,but nothing was ever found. may be we have a Malta triangle like the Bermuda one.
SIMON GRIXTI
Jul 27th 2009, 10:30
Still a mystery for me too !!!! The story narrated by the survivor is soooo hazy as even the report states.