It has been reported that burst casualties occurred to air bottles of a self contained air support system of over-10-years-old fire-protected lifeboats installed on board some NK class ships during sailing or recharging. Although no exact cause of the casualties has yet been identified, it has been reported that some burst bottles, especially on the lower part of them, were heavily rusted, and thickness reductions were found about 50 % locally. Fortunately, the casualties resulted in no injury or no death but we are concerned that they could have resulted in serious casualties.

While assuming that you have done maintenance and inspections for fire-protected lifeboats installed on board ships in accordance with the requirements specified in 1974 SOLAS (as amended) and the maintenance manuals of the respective manufactures, we sincerely recommend in view of the above that you should inspect conditions of rust, corrosion and defect etc. of air bottles of a self contained air support system of over-10-years-old fire-protected lifeboats after installation ( hereinafter referred to as the "bottles" ), especially on the lower part of them, at an early date, and record the results in log books etc. on board ships and thereafter inspect / record at 5 yearly intervals at least. If the results need recharge the bottles, it is also recommended that the bottles should be recharged after at least internal inspections and hydraulic tests by appropriate shore based service facilities.

Furthermore, during the regular Safety Equipment Surveys after 1 January 2003, an attending Surveyor to ClassNK will check log-book etc. on board ships to ascertain that the bottles are subjected to inspections periodically.

For any questions about the above, please contact:

NIPPON KAIJI KYOKAI (ClassNK)
Survey Department, Administration Center, Head Office
Address: 4-7, Kioi-cho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 102-8567, Japan
Tel.: +81-3-5226-2027 / 2028
Fax: +81-3-5226-2029
E-mail: svd@classnk.or.jp