Executive summary
On 10 March 2000 at about 2000, the passenger vessel "Sweet Georgia" was on a charter cruise in Wellington Harbour when a fire started in the engine room. The fire was contained by the actions of the skipper but the control cables for the engine were damaged, causing the engine to slowly manoeuvre astern. Other vessels in the vicinity were able to evacuate the 58 passengers and 4 crew without injury. The skipper remained aboard the "Sweet Georgia". The astern movement of the vessel caused it to ground on reclaimed land, where the fire service boarded and extinguished the fire. The skipper suffered smoke inhalation but nobody was injured.
The principal factor contributing to the fire was a fault in the house battery alternator.
Safety issues identified included:
• substandard marine electrical installations on small craft
• lack of consistency and the adequacy of rules governing standards for marine electrical installations on small craft.
Safety recommendations were made to the owner and the Director of Maritime Safety to address the safety issues.
Related Recommendations
Develop an industry training standard that would enable automotive electricians to learn the basic safety requirements and peculiarities of marine electrical installations.
Install a fire detection system in the engine room of the "Sweet Georgia" and ensure that the poor electrical installation standards identified in this report are rectified.