Water mist improves fire safety at sea

The innovative water mist system developed by Danish vendor Semco Maritime is in high regard throughout the industry and is fast becoming a sought-after solution to fire on ships and offshore installations

The need for more efficient fire protection systems on offshore installations has led to the development of an innovative water mist system by Danish vendor Semco Maritime.

The system is in high regard throughout the industry and is fast becoming a sought-after solution to fire on ships, says Hans Peter Jّrgensen vice president, Semco Maritime.
Hardly anyone will deny that fire is one of the greatest hazards to maritime safety. A fire on a ship or offshore unit can be difficult to control and rapidly becomes a serious threat to everyone on-board, with abandoning ship quickly becoming the only viable option. A number of fatal fires on passenger ships in the early 1990s were sad reminders of the fact that even more effective fire-fighting systems were needed if security was to be improved. This was acknowledged by international maritime organisations, which put forward new and much more stringent specifications for more effective measures against fire on maritime units.
At the same time, international societies were focusing on phasing out halon-based fire protection systems because of their potential damaging effect to the Earth’s ozone layer. The alternative systems sprinkler and CO2 – may have been effective at extinguishing fires, but they introduced new and difficult challenges in terms of weight and stability, especially in the case of older vessels.
In the last part of the 1990s, the above factors led to an increasing demand for innovative, effective and reliable systems. Semco Maritime very quickly took on the challenge of developing high-quality fire protection systems, and the result was the highly acclaimed Sem-Safe Water Mist Fire-fighting system. Semco Maritime invested a lot of hard work and effort in convincing European and American ship and rig operators of the system’s benefits. As a result, the system is now held in high regard and is widely used in offshore units - both oil production installations and jack-up semi-submersible rigs.
As well as working with oil and gas companies and rig operators, Semco Maritime targeted the huge potential market of the shipping world. Due to new and stricter legislation in the area of fire protection, the company decided to spend considerable amounts on research and development into a viable alternative to traditional systems installed onboard ships. The aim was to develop a simple, lightweight, single-media system that could be utilised in any area of the ship.
Efficient Water Mist
The Sem-Safe Water Mist Fire-fighting system uses atomised water to produce a water mist. This mist is extremely efficient at putting out fires without the need for chemical additives. To better understand the advantages of the Sem-Safe Water Mist Fire-fighting system, let’s take a look at the disadvantages of traditional fire protection systems on ships.
Clear Advantages
In this context, the advantages of the Sem-Safe Water Mist Fire-fighting system are evident. The system is quite simply one of the most efficient solutions on the market when it comes to putting out fires very quickly. At the same time, the use of water mist ensures minimal damage to the installations. The system has been developed into a highly reliable solution that can be combined with remote releases.
In contrast to other well-known systems, the Sem-Safe Water Mist Fire-fighting system poses no threat to the environment and is harmless to people, as no chemical additives are used. The system uses very little water and therefore has minimal water reservoir requirements. The Sem-Safe Water Mist Fire-fighting system also provides significant savings in terms of weight and space requirements compared with traditional systems. These reduced weight requirements are essential when it comes to ensuring good stability on ships. In addition, the system is easy to install due to small pipe dimensions.
Proven Performance
We are often asked about the performance efficiency<