Independent investigation into the steering gear compartment fire on board the Marshall Islands registered anchor handling tug Petra Frontier, at sea off Darwin, Northern Territory, on 28 September 2009.

Executive summary

Shortly before 0540 on 28 September 2009, a fire started in the steering gear compartment of the Marshall Islands registered anchor handling tug supply vessel Petra Frontier while it was en route from the Timor Sea to Darwin, Northern Territory.

The ship's crew were unable to extinguish the fire using portable fire extinguishers. By about 0640, all of the compartment's access doors and vents were closed, the electrical power supply to the machinery in the space was isolated and the deck above was boundary cooled. As a result of these actions, the fire eventually burnt itself out.

The investigation found that the fire probably started when rags, which had been soaked in oil that was leaking from a hydraulic unit, were ignited by heat generated by, or a spark emanating from, an electrical solenoid. The investigation also found that the ship's crew had not identified the numerous deficiencies that existed in the ship's emergency equipment, they were not familiar with the use of the emergency equipment and the on board response to the fire was not well managed.

The investigation identified two safety issues: while Petra Frontier had undergone a series of flag State inspections and class surveys, neither authority was aware that the ship was unseaworthy in relation to critical safety equipment; and the ship's safety management system contained some contradictory information relating to the scheduling of fire and abandon ship drills.