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Cargo ship loaded with containers close to coast

Advice, Loss Prevention

Focus: Engine room fires

One of the dominating causes of engine room fires is lube-oil or fuel-oil mist spraying onto hot surfaces and then igniting. Our Loss Prevention team have made an overview of the causes together with advice on how to avoid engine room fires.

Engine rooms on ships have all the ingredients for a fire – oxygen, heat and flammable liquids under pressure. Not surprisingly, one of the dominating causes is lube-oil or fuel-oil mist spraying onto hot surfaces and then igniting.

When compared to other Hull and Machinery (H&M) claims the frequency of engine room fires is low but the average cost is among the highest – USD 1,850,000 per occurrence – compared with USD 320,000 for H&M claims in general. (Based on reports from 2008 to 2017.)

This Loss Prevention supplement is together with an overview of the causes and advice on how to avoid engine room fires, illustrating some actual cases.

Dealing with engine room fires »


By highlighting the risks and causes of onboard fires we are striving at assisting shipowners and crews in their safety work.