Ocean Navigator Fire Traced to Shoddy Maintenance

Staff
By Staff
3 Min Read

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On October 9, 2023, the Ocean Navigator
passenger vessel owned by Victory Cruise Lines

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began a 10 night cruise from Montreal, Canada
to Boston,

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Massachusetts with 128 passengers and 82 crew
members aboard.

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9 days later at about 7 a.m., the vessel was
docked in Portland,

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Maine when a fire broke out in the engine room.
The NTSB released a report this week that

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traced the fire to debris in the engine’s lube
oil system,

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which led to a catastrophic mechanical failure
in the #2 auxiliary diesel generator engine.

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The fire injured a crew member, but it itself
extinguished after the crew ventilated the

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engine room.
Still, the incident caused some $2.4 million in

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damage.
Just before the fire, two crewmen were

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performing maintenance in the engine room when
they discovered a small lube oil leak on the

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number two auxiliary engine.

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The 3 engineer told the NTSB, quote, The bolt
was loose as we could see it turning.

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The pair ran to get tools to tighten the bolt,
but when they returned and sat beside the

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engine, it exploded and fire immediately spread
across and above the generator.

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The fire set the motorman’s coveralls on fire,
and he suffered burns to about 40% of his body.

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Third party technicians were brought in
following the fire.

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Tear down the engine and they found significant
damage.

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NTSB investigators determined that the debris
in the engine lube’s oil system,

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which caused the engine failure was possibly
caused by the crew exceeding manufacturer

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recommended intervals for changing the lube oil
and oil filter.

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The crew last changed the entire quantity of
lube oil for the engine in September 2022,

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about 13 months before the engine failure.

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However, the engine operated for more than 5000
hours with this lube oil,

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5 times longer than the manufacturer’s
recommendation.

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Since the filter was changed in May 23, the
engine had run more than 3000 hours,

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3 times longer than recommended.
In the reports,

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the NTSB said, quote, manufacturers provide
maintenance recommendations and intervals to

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ensure equipment operates safely.

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Optimally and reliably throughout its service
life, NTSB did note that the crew’s quick

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action prevented the fire from spreading.
The 300 ft long passenger vessel was originally

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built in 2004 at Atlantic Marine Shipyard in
Jacksonville, Florida.

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I’m David Manti.
This is manufacturing now.

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