Fire on dive boat Conception in CA

[lexvil]

Uhm, no. A bad battery does not engulf a 65 ft vessel in seconds. Sorry, but the whole ridiculous battery theory is just that, ridiculous.

How many ships have you actually been on, and how many USB charged batteries have you seen explode to the point of engulfing that much of a structure?

What facts?

 

[tursiops]

How many ships have you actually been on, and how many USB charged batteries have you seen explode to the point of engulfing that much of a structure?

I've spent my entire life on ships, of all sizes, flags, and purposes. I'm a diver and oceanographer. USB charging is not the only kind of charger....now YOU are speculating. Were there any DPVs on board? We don't know yet. I do know I've been on liveaboards where NO charging was allowed except in designated places.

 

[cerich]

Uhm, no. A bad battery does not engulf a 65 ft vessel in seconds. Sorry, but the whole ridiculous battery theory is just that, ridiculous.

How many ships have you actually been on, and how many USB charged batteries have you seen explode to the point of engulfing that much of a structure?

OK... as you have asked.

I will answer in reverse order. no usb, but have seen lithium ion batteries catch fire while charging personally twice, and one charger. The charger was a smoking hot but no fire non issue and one of the batteries just smoked and made weird sounds and ended up in the sink where it bubbled for a few hours, the other blew apart the canister it was in and shot flames. That could easily torch furnishings etc and you would have a compartment engulfed in less than a minute.

To how many ships I have crewed on? Here is a picture that doesn't include normal non overnight day boats. that would be a dozen more, but these are the vessels I have sailed in as crew (yes all 3 of the subs, not just one)

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https://photos.app.goo.gl/mwfCjoMvdhpXy5Kk8

 

[RayfromTX]

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[bowlofpetunias]

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A ScubaBoard Staff Message...

This summary updated 14 Sept 2019 Updates are also posted on page one of this thread. Please follow links and read surrounding posts to keep up to date.

It is always best to read an entire thread before commenting. Due to the length of this one we are providing & updating this summary for topics covered. We believe this information is credible but it can not be established as proven facts prior to completion of the investigation.

Please be kind when you post here remember the special rules and consider families, friends and survivors who are reading this. Consider Accidents and Incident Threads: Victim Perspective

We can not determine the cause here but discussing possibilities may help to prevent future tragedies.

34 Casualties DNA identified

• SB Sheriff Brown (Coroner) states probable COD smoke inhalation
• last victim found 11 Sept

Conception compliant met or exceeded applicable USCG requirements on last inspection implies approved; fire alarms, fire fighting equipment and escape routes

• Grandfathered for inspection requirements. Discussion here
• USCG issue Safety Information Bulletin 10 Sept 2019
  
• Certificate of Inspection here

NTSB (National Transportation Safety Board) Preliminary Report
Preliminary Report: Marine DCA19MM047
Discussion points

• concludes all crew sleeping
• Statement in Preliminary Report says it may contain errors

Anchor Watch

• Captain's responsibilities
  
• Regulations
  
• Anchor watch process discussion
• People from prior trips reported meeting the "watchman" at various times during night

Rough time line as reported

• night dive time? commonly done by passengers; NO night dive by Crew
  
• 2:30 crew member finished up in the galley verified heating elements were out and cold etc. Then went upstairs to bed. Not indicated if this was the designated Anchor Watch see
  
• Between 3 and 3:14, a crew member awoke hearing a bang. He attempted to go down to investigate but stairs already afire.
• 5 crew were in the wheelhouse two levels above the berth area. 1 crew member in the berth below did not survive.
• crew jumped to deck, one broke leg other undisclosed ankle injuries
• Captain first Mayday from Bridge documented 3:14
• crew tried to reach the passengers from aft passage into the salon/galley then via forward front windows
  
• forced from the boat by the fire some swam aft to the dingy & brought it alongside to rescue injured crew
  
• sought help from nearby vessel Grape Escape Another Mayday call.

Most suspected causes of fire discussed

• charging batteries either in the Galley or possibly berth area
• Dept of Fire Protection Engineering, U of Maryland video
  
• electrical fires are often a factor
  
• boat fires DO burn quickly
• electrical wiring faults inside walls can smolder for hours before bursting into flame
• Boat USA Foundation boat fire video

Battery discussions here

Original location of fire not yet established

• former owner believes it started in passenger berth area
• some believe it started in galley/salon area

Conception's layout and facilities

• all electric no propane or other fuel used for cooking
• Nitrox = Nuvair Membrane
• NO banked Oxygen
• all O2 First aid tanks or stage bottles were aft (last to burn)
• Conception Safety Video link
  
• Post fire picture
• News footage raising the Conception

Exits from Dorm

• main exit - stairs to starboard forward end of the dorm to the galley/salon.
• emergency hatch above bunks at aft end of dorm exited in aft portion of the salon, just inside the passageway to the after deck.
• no locked doors to the galley, salon or berth area.

The design of berth area and escape hatches discussed extensively. It meets current USCG standards which many believe may be changed as a result of this tragedy.

Excellent DAN article Mental Health post incident

Google Map link that shows Platt Harbor and the US Coast Guard Station, Channel Islands. Ventura and Santa Barbara are to the north

Related threads

A personal perspective on California Live-aboards
Discussion of legal aspects here
Condolences posted here
Donations here

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[ijdod]

Every now and then we get a Scubaboard Staff Message in this thread. It would be nice if they added a few items. Rules regarding a roving watch aboard Navy ships and large vessels may differ than rules for a 75' dive boat.

A watch is also not 100% perfect. To put that into perspective: ship collisions happen surprisingly often. Last couple of years we even had a couple of navy ships running into big cargo ships. That is navy ships, with strict procedures as to how to run a ship, and a ship that can actually turn on a dime (compared to a tanker or cargo ship). Another (in)famous one is the Tricolor wreck in the English channel, itself sunk due to a collision in 2002. One of the busiest shipping lanes in the world, a well-known, well charted wreck, with a navy ship parked nearby... and ships still managed to run into it.

From Wikipedia:

Despite standard radio warnings, three guard ships, and a lighted buoy, the Dutch vessel Nicola struck the wreck the next night and had to be towed free. After this two additional patrol ships and six more buoys were installed, including one with a Racon warning transponder. However, on 1 January 2003 the loaded Turkish-registered fuel carrier Vicky struck the same wreck;

 

[bperrybap]

... and how many USB charged batteries have you seen explode to the point of engulfing that much of a structure?

While what I witnessed wasn't on a boat, I have seen the results of a camera and light batteries catching on fire during the night while charging.
In Nov of 2018, I was in Philippines at a dive resort.
The dive house had a handful of camera stations in a common area.
One morning I came out to the dive house and noticed that there had been a fire the night before at one of the camera stations.
The camera housing, the twin lights and arms were all a black melted mess of charred remains along with lots of black charring in the nearby surrounding area.
Luckily in this case, the table/shelf for the camera stations was made of concrete and the wall behind it was concrete cinder block. So while there was a lot of charring on the table and black residue on the wall up to the ceiling, along with lots of melted stuff in that station area, and the person lost their camera setup, the building did not catch on fire.

I'm not saying that a battery issue is what caused caused the fire on the boat, but that these types of battery issues do happen, and when they do, they generate immense heat and have the potential to cause the surrounding materials to light on fire from the flames and the intense heat generated.

--- bill

 

[Madacub]

Regarding the summary posted by bowlofpetunias, a couple of points:

1. It says "Conception was Grandfathered for inspection requirements." Later on it says "The design has been discussed extensively. It meets current USCG standards.....". Are these contradictory?

2. Why not put a summary like this as post # 1? Or is there some technical reason this cannot be done?

Thanks.

 

[hammet]

A lot of internet speculation is now focused on the guy who was on watch as required by law. (SubT rules). This is includes what role the captain or owner may have had in insuring the watch performed his duties. If there was a generally lax rule about the role of the watch (i.e. taking naps, not 'patroling', etc) then there will be some liability, perhaps criminal on the part of the captain or owner.

 

[ijdod]

Regarding the summary posted by bowlofpetunias, a couple of points:

1. It says "Conception was Grandfathered for inspection requirements." Later on it says "The design has been discussed extensively. It meets current USCG standards.....". Are these contradictory?

Not necessarily. It means the boat had to conform to the standards is was built to, and was inspected as such. It met the standards that applied to it. It did not have to meet (all) the standards implemented after it was built.