Awareness: CO₂ flooding system activation points

A member has highlighted a potential gap in safety awareness which may be of interest to members.  One of their vessels has a CO₂ flooding system activation point within the main CO₂ bottle room – however, there are no warnings or procedural guidance on the use of Breathing Apparatus (BA) within the main CO₂ bottle room when operating the system.

Our member drew the following lessons:

• When activating flooding systems there is a chance that CO₂ may leak into the space itself, either directly from the cylinders and/or associated piping.  As such, the space may quickly fill with CO₂ presenting a hazardous atmosphere to persons inside;
• Therefore, after seeking guidance from the maritime fire-fighting school, our member recommended the use of BA whenever;
  • entering the CO₂ cylinder space after activating the system from a remote point;
  • when activation of the CO₂ system is required from within the CO₂ cylinder space itself, or
  • whenever undertaking drills within the CO₂ cylinder space;
• Steps were taken to review relevant vessel specific procedures and, where required, update them to include guidance on the use of BA equipment in CO₂ cylinder rooms/spaces.