We have converted the fire extinguishing system on board two ships for Borealis Maritime. Two existing “off-shore supply vessels” had to be equipped with a so-called FiFi-1 system. This system includes two large extinguishing guns with which the ship can help extinguish a fire on another ship or oil rig. Each cannon sprays over 20,000 liters of water per minute over a distance of more than 130 meters. In order to get enough water to the guns and the rest of the extinguishing water system, two large pumps have been delivered, each pumping 30,000 l / min (1,800 m³ / hour) at a pressure of approx. 14 bar. The pumps are powered by 1350 hp Caterpillar diesel engines. These engines normally function as a generator. When the pumps are required for extinguishing, the generators are disconnected and the pumps are switched on using hydraulic couplings.
The ships were moored at a Spanish shipyard near the town of Cadiz. This yard has made the necessary adjustments to the ship under the supervision of Roodhart. A lot of equipment had to be moved to make room for these large pumps behind the existing engines. In addition, the frames had to be adjusted, the piping installed and the control of the engines adjusted. After the installation and the “dry” testing of the systems, we went out to sea with the ship for the “sea trial” with the inspector of Lloyds. We were able to demonstrate in a duration test of more than 5 hours that the FiFi-1 system works perfectly.
