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AMO members fight fire aboard USNS Shughart
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| Officers, crewmembers of USNS Red Cloud, USNS Sisler answer call for assistance |
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The officers and crewmembers of the USNS Red Cloud and USNS Sisler helped fight a fire aboard the USNS Shughart over a 24-hour period in March while the large medium-speed roll-on/roll-off vessels were moored in Ash Shuaybah, Kuwait.
Military Sealift Command credited "quick thinking and action" by the crew of the Shughart and "able assistance from crewmembers from USNS Red Cloud, USNS Sisler, Cape Ducato and Cape Douglas," as well as "the invaluable help of Kuwaiti fire fighters," for minimizing the extent of the recurrent fire March 5. "On behalf of the American Maritime Officers membership and National Executive Board, I commend officers and crew of the USNS Sisler and USNS Red Cloud for their bravery, professionalism and ability in fighting the recurrent fire aboard the Shughart in Kuwait and helping to bring a safe resolution to an extremely dangerous situation," said AMO National President Michael McKay. "Their swift and skillful response to the Shughart's call for assistance reflects the finest traditions of the U.S. merchant marine and brings honor to them, their ships and our union." Three of the Shughart's crew members suffered smoke inhalation and there was extensive damage to the ship as a result of the fire; however, there were no fatalities and the ship's cargo was successfully offloaded undamaged. The Shughart was delivering cargo for the U.S. Army's 1st Cavalry Division at the time of the fire. The cargo was about 75 percent offloaded when personnel working in the vicinity of the starboard auxiliary machinery room smelled smoke. Black smoke was found issuing from the machinery room and the crew began fighting the fire with extinguishers and fire hoses. After about 90 minutes of battling the fire without much success, "the crew secured the engine room ventilation system and all other systems they could reach, and left the space to muster for a head count," according to a report from MSC. "Once all crew members were accounted for, the ship's carbon dioxide fire fighting system was activated in the affected spaces." The Shughart requested assistance from the Sisler and Red Cloud, and the Ready Reserve Force ships MV Cape Douglas and MV Cape Ducato also sent members of their crew to help fight the fire. The Sisler and Red Cloud, both operated by Maersk Line Limited for MSC and manned in all licensed positions by American Maritime Officers, mustered fire teams and equipment to assist the Shughart. According to reports from Capt. Christopher Begley, master of the Red Cloud, and Capt. David Bobbe, master of the Sisler, this is what happened: Aboard the Red Cloud, Chief Mate Alex Sedlacek took charge of assembling the equipment requested by MSC. Capt. Begley delivered SCBA units and other firefighting equipment to the scene of the fire. Upon arrival, he was asked to provide one fire party. About 20 minutes later, a fire party from the Red Cloud--consisting of Third Mate Phillip Thrift, Bosun Thomas DeCarlo, AB Steven Dieken, AB Lumamba Lasana, OS Herman Moyler and Storekeeper Rudy Amora--arrived at the Shughart. The Sisler also sent SCBA units to the Shughart and dispatched a fire party consisting of Chief Mate Alexander Olaes, Third Mate Christine Razukas, Third Mate Scott Gregorio, Bosun Kenneth Steiner, AB William McIntyre, AB Timothy Squire, OS Manuel Flores and QMED Steven Lombardi. As midnight approached, Capt. Bobbe reported that the smoke coming from the Shughart's stack "was greatly reduced to the point of just being steam coming out." Shortly after midnight, the master of the Shughart thanked the teams from the Red Cloud and Sisler for their assistance and equipment and released the fire parties from duty. The team from the Red Cloud was loading their equipment into a HUMVEE on the pier when the fire re-flashed. "This time the team would actually be entering the ship and aid(ing) boundary cooling efforts on the diesel oil service tanks," Capt. Begley reported. "We were all watching steam roll off a 225-degree Fahrenheit deck. During this evolution, we had heard some decks buckling due to the heat. It was reported that the pier was being evacuated after these 'explosions.' However, nobody in the fire parties hesitated. Remaining on station, each crewmember performed professionally and without complaint." The first fire team from the Sisler had just returned to the ship when the report was received that the fire had re-flashed. Capt. Bobbe assembled a second fire team--consisting of AB Shelton Graham, Steiner, McIntyre, Flores and Lombardi--and drove them to the Shughart. When they arrived, the Red Cloud fire party was boarding the Shughart and the team from the Sisler was instructed to wait on the pier. At about 0230, the Sisler's fire party was informed they would be relieving the Red Cloud's team at 0400. Capt. Bobbe contacted his ship and had three more people sent over to join the fire party--AB Douglas Hemphill, Squire and OS Dale Harrison. At 0350, Capt. Bobbe went aboard the Shughart and met Capt. Begley, who's team was boundary cooling the deck of the cargo hold. The fire hoses were lashed to shoring frames and would not be required to be constantly handled, so Capt. Bobbe sent half of the Sisler's fire team back to the ship. The remaining fire party from the Sisler relieved the Red Cloud team at 0400. Shortly afterward, the water pressure to the fire main dropped and the deck warmed as it began to dry. The fire party used bottled water and ice to cool the deck until a Kuwaiti fire truck arrived and a hose was deployed. The Sisler fire party remained on station until relieved at 0730. "Without warning about 12 hours later, fire flashed again. Flames were now visible from the starboard side of the ship," according to MSC. At 1645, the Sisler and Red Cloud received a report that the fire had re-flashed. Fire parties were assembled on both ships. Capt. Begley drove his team's firefighting gear to the Shughart, followed by his fire party of Thrift, Dieken, Amora, Lasana, AB Uverna Johnson, Moyler and First Assistant Engineer Paul Charest. The MSC representative requested that Amora assist in translating for the tug crews to help concentrate their efforts in spraying affected areas of the ship with water. The team from the Sisler--Capt. Bobbe, Steiner, McIntyre, Squire and Hemphill--arrived just ahead of them. Electronics Officer Lawoo Shete also went aboard the Shughart to assist the ship's chief engineer. The fire parties were requested to assist the firefighting effort in the cargo hold below deck. The teams linked up and went into the ship, and brought in two hoses from a fire truck. They attacked a fire in the overhead compartment and pushed the thick smoke into the cargo hold. At this point, Capt. Bobbe was able to look around the corner and spotted flames in the overhead of the after portion of the cargo hold. The teams rotated in and out and contained the fires. Capt. Begley met with fire teams from the Cape Douglas and Cape Ducato on the pier, who joined the fire parties onboard the Shughart to continue the perimeter attack on the fire. At about 2000, relief teams from the Sisler--consisting of Second Mate Roger Turner, Jr., Second A.E. Scott Phillips, Wiper Dave Higdon, OS Jay Pierce and Chief Engineer William Dennis--and the Red Cloud--consisting of Third Mate Scott Spears, DeCarlo, AB Gerald Cassie and Wiper George Lavender--reported to the Shughart to relieve the fire parties. The new teams assisted in hose tending while shore-based firefighters and the crew of the Shughart entered the main space. "Fire fighters decided that auxiliary machinery room was the likely epicenter of the fire," and determined that "getting foam into that space was crucial to extinguishing the fire. The crew immediately went to work cutting holes through the deck above the room and the Kuwaiti fire trucks pumped foam into the machinery room. About 24 hours after discovery, the fire was finally out," according to MSC. The fire parties remained onboard the Shughart as the main space was investigated and the fire was declared out. The fire teams were released around midnight. In addition to fighting the fire, the Sisler and Red Cloud filled SCBA tanks, provided showers for firefighting crews and offered other crucial support and equipment to the effort. The Shughart remained in Kuwait for damage assessments following the incident. |
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