Low Expansion Foam Fire-fighting Systems
Our fire-fighting and fire prevention systems are essential for ensuring safety and protecting the life of the crew on board and property on your ships. These systems definitely require regular and proper maintenance to ensure their reliable operation in case of emergency.
But increasing troubles on the systems recently reported to us suggest that they are not always properly maintained. This document is to remind you of the typical consequences the lack of maintenance could have and of the importance of maintenance to keep the system sound and operable.
The negligence of the maintenance could lead to the failure of the system operation when needed and pose considerable risks to human life or property. Since these systems serve as the last resort for safety protection, you are kindly requested to review the maintenance arrangement to ensure their reliable operation.
Inspection/Maintenance Conducted by Uncertified Agencies
In most cases, uncertified agencies undertake inspection services of various fire-fighting systems and equipment collectively. This could mean to save the time and labor cost to you, but they do not necessarily fully understand the fundamental structure and functions of the system, and sometimes omit electrical functional tests. Due to the difficulty in allocating enough time for each item, their collective inspection is likely to be limited to visual and superficial checks without replacing consumables. Their failure to detect and identify signs and symptoms for a malfunction could lead to serious consequences, including activation failure of the system.
Troubles Brought by Poor Maintenance
Consumables of the Foam Monitor
The foam monitor uses consumable parts such as O-rings or ball bearings. They have different service life depending on their usage environment but can be deteriorated sooner or later. They need to be promptly replaced if the monitor doesn’t smoothly tilt or swivel, or sea water leaking is found.