On 5 May 2014, a fire broke out on the Danish tug FRIGGA due to a leaking lubricating oil filter in the engine room. Prior to the accident, the chief engineer had observed a minor leakage of the filter and wanted to fasten the bolts on its top flange. In order to gain access to the flange, he needed to remove a shield from the flange. While doing so, he unintentionally removed an air bleeding screw on the pressurized filter. This caused an oil jet to gush from the lubricating oil filter. Oil was sprayed on hot parts of the main engine, ignited and subsequently caused a deflagration.
In the marine accident report on the fire on board FRIGGA, the DMAIB focuses on two main subjects in the analysis of the accident: 1) Design of and interaction with the lubricating oil filter. 2) Influence of stress response mechanisms on the crew members’ emergency management performance.
The report can be downloaded in PDF format here.