Norwegian safety body warns of faulty fireproof doors

The Norwegian safety watchdog, the Petroleum Safety Authority (PSA) has informed of a circular letter to the industry which states that COSMO class A-0, A-60, and B-15 offshore cabin doors may have deficient insulation.

PSA said on Friday that the deficiency concerned fire doors that are certified to MED (Marine Equipment Directive) modules B and D and type-approved by DNV GL.

According to the safety body, corrective measures have been implemented in the production of new doors and that fire doors manufactured after July 4, 2014, must comply with a valid certificate.

It is worth clarifying that all three door classes regard offshore, marine, and watertight fire doors used on vessels and offshore installations.

DNV GL added in a letter of its own that new fire tests, witnessed by DNV GL, have been conducted on various types of fire doors with partly missing insulation and that further tests were scheduled.

The certification body added that these tests were carried out to determine if doors with partly missing insulation might still comply with relevant requirements. Tests of temporary and alternative repair methods are also in progress where such measures are required.

The expected date for completion of test results and a repair proposal is late September 2017.

The fire door manufacturer said that it expects that doors produced since November 2013 might be affected by this fault.

COSMO also proposed a temporary repair method for A-60 fire doors. Namely, if the fire door is missing insulation, installation of a fire block (FireMaster Marine Plus 128 kg/cm3 density, 50mm thickness) on the upper part of the door can be an alternative solution or a temporary repair to meet A-60 class fire door requirement.

The company added that material injection and other alternative solutions were being tested.

Offshore Energy Today Staff