BELFOR Restores Fire-Damaged Engine Room Systems Aboard a Crude Oil Tanker in Two Weeks

ABOUT THE VESSEL

The vessel was a crude oil tanker that suffered a fire in its engine room, prompting an emergency call to BELFOR for immediate inspection and recovery support.

THE CHALLENGE

A fire broke out at one of the vessel’s diesel generators, and the tanker was brought into a shipyard for repair and restoration. When BELFOR’s team inspected the vessel, they found the damage was extensive and widespread. Two full decks of the engine room, along with the upper deck and three additional decks above it, showed significant soot contamination and thermal damage. Cables, cable ladders, the affected generator, boiler panels, lighting and instrumentation across the engine room had all sustained moderate to severe heat damage.

Left untreated, the contamination generated by the fire posed a serious ongoing threat: it would continue to corrode exposed metal and electrical components over time, risking further equipment failure well after the fire itself had been extinguished. Encouragingly, the vessel’s Engine Control Room, its most sensitive space, had escaped contamination entirely, giving BELFOR a critical foothold from which to plan the recovery.

THE RESPONSE

The client engaged BELFOR to inspect the damage, recommend a course of action, and carry out the recovery itself. BELFOR’s team assessed every affected deck and identified fourteen individual electrical panels and control units, ranging from air compressor starters to power distribution panels, that needed to be brought back to a safe, functioning condition rather than scrapped and replaced.

BELFOR’s approach centred on precision cleaning and restoration. Each panel was carefully cleaned inside and out, thoroughly rinsed, dried, and tested to confirm it was free of the corrosive residue left behind by the fire before being returned to service.

THE RESULTS

BELFOR successfully restored all fourteen affected electrical panels and control units, verifying each one was safe and fully decontaminated. Remarkably, the entire recovery process, from initial callout to full completion, took just two weeks. Had the damaged components instead been written off and replaced, sourcing and installing new equipment of this kind could realistically have taken months or even years, given the specialised nature of marine electrical systems and the lead times involved in manufacturing and shipping replacement parts. By restoring rather than replacing, BELFOR helped the client avoid a drastically longer, costlier path back to operation. Both the client and the vessel’s owner confirmed the completed work was satisfactory.

CONCLUSION

When fire tore through the engine room of a crude oil tanker, the scale of the damage could easily have meant a prolonged, expensive replacement process. Instead, BELFOR’s rapid, precision-focused recovery approach restored the vessel’s critical electrical systems in just two weeks, a fraction of the time replacement would have taken, reinforcing BELFOR’s role as a trusted partner for fast, effective marine fire damage recovery.

Facing fire, water, or contamination damage on a vessel or industrial asset? BELFOR’s rapid response teams are ready to help you get back to operation faster. Contact Us today to speak with a specialist.