Fuel leakage from main engine fuel pump

                    A product tanker was proceeding on a long voyage after the completion of drydocking and associated surveys. During the ocean passage, the fire alarm suddenly activated in the engine room. Instead of a fire, the cause of the alarm turned out to be a large leakage of fuel oil from a flange on the inlet pipe of the main engine no. 4 fuel injection pump.

Result of investigation

1.The fuel system had been overhauled, but no senior ship’s engineer supervised its refitting in drydock. As they did not have a new spare, the yard workers had reused the gasket of the flange connection on the suction side of the fuel injection pump even though it was damaged;

2.The insulation and leakage containment cover over the fuel line had not been renewed/refitted.

Lessons learnt

1.Proper planning is necessary in drydock and during major repairs 

to ensure that responsible officers are delegated to supervise the 

refitting of critical components;

2.The condition, integrity and tightness of piping should be 

regularly checked, especially on critical equipment and fuel oil 

systems;

3.The vessel must ensure that adequate quantities of original spare

 parts are available at all times, and that all gaskets are renewed 

whenever pipelines are opened up and reconnected;

4.Wherever appropriate, lagging and containment covering must 

always be refitted, or renewed, if damaged;

5.All defective parts discovered after an incident must be 

carefully preserved to allow detailed investigations and to 

establish the underlying cause(s) so that effective corrective and 

preventative actions can be taken.