Technical Circular No: 031/2023
Download PDF1. Marshall Islands flag administration has issued an advisory No. 14-23 regarding failure of copper bursting discs in fixed CO2 fire-extinguishing systems.
2. As per the advisory failure of cylinder valves manufactured by NK Co. LTD, Korea prior to 2016, caused a loss of more then 50% of ship’s available supply. Subsequent root cause analysis determined that variable environmental conditions and fluctuating air cylinder pressures led to a material failure of the copper bursting discs in the cylinder valves.
3. Although in 2016, the manufacturer changed the material in the bursting discs from copper to nickel, as it is more resistant to changing environmental conditions, no service bulletin or similar notice recommending the replacement was issued. Although they have updated their user manual.
In view of above, Owners/ Managers and Masters of vessels are advised to review the following recommendation.
- For all fixed fire-extinguishing systems, owners / operators should verify with the manufacturer that it meets the recommended material component requirements and any changes. Manufacturer’s maintenance manuals and inspection guidelines must be available onboard and followed.
- For systems with NK Co., LTD, Korea cylinder valves, the updated User Manual must be followed
4. Further it is urged that owners / operators implement their periodic review process of manufacturer’s system manuals, service bulletins, and notices to ensure system changes can be identified, implemented, and rectified.
Enclosure:
Disclaimer:
This Technical Circular and the material contained in it is provided only for the purpose of supplying current information to the reader and not as an advice to be relied upon by any person. While we have taken utmost care to be as factual as possible, readers/ users are advised to verify the exact text and content of the Regulation from the original source/ issuing Authority.