The crew of Icelandic trawler Vestmannaey did all the right things when a fire broke out on board while steaming home with a full fishroom.
According to skipper Birgir Thór Sverrison, they were aware of a loud bang and the trawler was shaken, and initial thought were that they had hit a floating log.
‘We saw right away that wasn’t the case, and that there had been an explosion in the engine room, and a fire had started,’ he said.
‘The engineer immediately went down below, saw the smoke and when it was clear to him that a fire extinguisher wasn’t enough, the engine room was closed off.’
The trawler’s emergency procedures were followed. The crew gathered in the wheelhouse, air vents to the engine room were closed and the fuel pumps stopped. The fire extinguishing system was triggered as soon as air flows to the engine room had been shut off.
‘We alerted the Coast Guard immediately and also the fire service in Reykjavík, who gave us guidance. As soon as we saw what had happened, we called up Bergey, asked them to haul their gear and they were alongside us 40 minutes later to put a hawser across to us,’ he said.
Bergey then towed Vestmannaey to Neskaupstaður, while the local pilot vessel ferried a fire team out to them.
‘They brought a heat camera and that showed the fire was most likely out, although there was still a high temperature in the engine room,’ he added, and said that the engine room was opened only when Vestmannaey was at the quayside in Neskaupstaður.
‘The fire was out, so all that was needed was to vent the smoke,’ Birgir Thór Sverrisson said.
‘I’m sure that quick and correct responses ensure that this wasn’t a worse outcome than it was. The crew did a fantastic job and were calm throughout. I’m grateful to Bergey’s crew for helping us out, and also would like to tanks the Coast Guard, the Fjarðabyggð fire service and the pilot vessel’s crew. I’m certain that this professional response made all the difference and the crew have a solid grounding in this from their safety training,’ he said, and added that there is serious damage to one of Vestmannaey’s two main engines, and work on repairing it is already in progress.
