Posted on 21st November 2016
With gas leaks responsible for the deaths of 20 people a year according to British Gas, gas safety has long been a pressing issue in the UK, but it is easy to underestimate the danger that this literally invisible killer can pose in marine settings, too.
It may be easy to presume that the usual recommended measures for detecting gas leaks in your home – such as having a carbon monoxide alarm installed – would also suffice for a ship. However, the highly specialised nature of the marine industry and its associated use of oxygen and fuel gases for such shipbuilding and ship-repairing processes as welding, cutting, gouging, heating and brazing means that slightly more specific advice is needed when you are responsible for a ship.
The Health and Safety Executive has previously published extensive guidance on the storage and use of oxygen and fuel gases on board ships. The already very serious risks to health of a gas leak are only magnified on board a ship, given the highly enclosed or confined nature of many of its spaces. Certainly, if there is any source of ignition present, any fuel or oxygen gas leak on a ship could rapidly cause a fire or explosion.
It is therefore vital to follow such stringent general precautions as ensuring that any cylinders containing flammable gases or oxygen are not taken below decks unless they are placed in an adequately ventilated part of the vessel, in addition to only using hoses and torches that are of the best quality construction and well-maintained. If, however, you wish to reliably and proactively detect gas leaks rather than depend on consistently preventing them in the first place, you may look to invest in suitable marine gas detection products like those in our comprehensive range here at Martek Marine.
With the highest quality and most dependable and innovative portable gas detectors, fixed gas detectors and gas detection tubes all available at competitive prices here at Martek Marine, we can offer every type of solution for giving you peace of mind against this most difficult-to-detect of potential on-board killers.
Our renowned offerings in the portable gas detector category include the Always Be Calibrated A-B-C system, for example, which helps to ensure that you no longer waste a droplet of calibration gas, while cutting your calibration gas detection costs. Or if you are responsible for a tanker fleet but are concerned about the leaking of flammable gases as well as oxygen and toxic gases like hydrogen sulphide, what about our MM2000™ solution, an intelligent fixed gas detection system that monitors all air conditioning inlets?
When you consider that we are also proud stockists of gas detection tubes that will enable you to spot leaks of such gases as butadiene, acetone, nitrogen dioxide, toluene and xylene, it becomes clear just how well-equipped we are to serve your most specialised marine gas detection requirements. Don’t accept the risk of only taking the most basic measures when you need to protect everyone on board your ships from one of the most easily forgotten-about dangers to their health.
If you would like to discuss how we can help you with your gas detection requirements, please give a member of our team a call or send us an email info@martek-marine.com.
