NFPA Journal - Winter 2021 - 64

Century of
Safety
As a result of the global nature of
the maritime community, NFPA and
the Marine Chemist Association have
shared the best practices represented
by the NFPA program whenever those
opportunities have arisen. The Panama
Canal Commission (PCC) requested
NFPA assistance in 1998 as it prepared
for the canal's transfer to Panama in
2000. The PCC proposed a model for
its shipyard safety program (there is
a shipyard on the canal near Panama
City) based on NFPA 306 and marine
chemists. Safety professionals employed
by PCC applied and trained for certification
as NFPA marine chemists with
the assistance of the Marine Chemist
Association during the early 2000s.
In 2022, NFPA 306 will observe its
100th anniversary. The standard, along
with the role of the marine chemist,
have never been more important.
Events around the world continue to
bear that out. In August 2020, a series
of explosions and fires in the port of
Beirut-the result of unregulated hot
work that started a fire that ignited
poorly managed hazardous materials-caused
more than 200 deaths and
6,000 injuries and produced an estimated
$15 billion in property damage.
In February, a fire and subsequent
explosion rocked a shipyard on the
Indonesian island of Borneo, killing
three workers. No cause has been
confirmed.
The standard and its companion
marine chemist program grew from
a need identified by stakeholders
seeking a consistent set of practices
that addressed and managed hazards
and ensured safety when executed
by a skilled professional. The current
edition of the standard, as well as the
qualifications and practice of marine
chemists, reflect an array of industry
changes over the years, and the
program continues to demonstrate a
unique partnership between government
and industry that safeguards
workers and the workplace. Since
the late 1980s, NFPA has provided
training for all sectors of the industry-tank
ship, barge and towing,
offshore, shipyards, Navy and Coast
Guard-informing them of the role
of regulations, standards, and the
64 | NFPA JOURNAL * WINTER 2021
marine chemist to promote safe behaviors
and invest in a culture of safety.
Sound safety management practice
for confined space entry and hot work
benefits from a program and standard
that embrace hazard recognition, evaluation,
and control, and that's been
the role of the marine chemist and
NFPA 306 for a century and counting.
THE SEEDS OF NFPA 306
In the early 1920s, as the nation
resumed its business following the end
of World War I, the maritime industry
found itself facing troubling losses.
Cargo vessels, converted to carry
troops and supplies in support of the
war effort, returned to shipyards for
reconversion back to their intended
uses as bulk liquid carriers and drycargo
transportation. Repairs often
involved extensive hot work-welding,
In 2022, NFPA 306
will observe its 100th
anniversary. The
standard, along with
the role of the marine
chemist, have never
been more important.
Events around the
world continue to
bear that out.
cutting, and burning-and fires and
explosions were common due to inadequate
or incomplete preparations
necessary to safeguard the hazards
posed by the liquid fuels (bunker
oils and diesel) and the aggressive
hot work. By 1922, the maritime
community, including vessel owners,
shipyards, marine insurers, marine
surveyors, and the petroleum industry,
had recognized that something needed
to be done to protect its assets.
NFPA had just marked its 25th year
in existence, but it was already known
for its ability to provide an arena for
stakeholders in need of a standard of
practice. That's why representatives
of the maritime industry, including
members of the American Bureau of
Shipping (ABS), approached NFPA in
1922 seeking its assistance with the
development of a new safety standard.
NFPA accepted the challenge.
Those inquiries resulted in a pair
of outcomes: a new standard to safely
govern hot work repairs on marine
vessels, particularly where cargo or
fuel tanks and piping were involved,
and the designation of a new specialist
whose training and experience allowed
them to apply the standard consistently
and effectively in shipyards. The
new standard was developed, with
industry collaboration, by the NFPA
Committee on Marine Fire Hazards, in
cooperation with the NFPA Committee
on Flammable Liquids. Originally
titled " Freeing Oil Tanks, Bunkers, and
Compartments of Dangerous Concentration
of Flammable, Explosive, or
Toxic Gases Previous to Entering for
Any Purpose or Making Repairs on
Oil Burning or Oil Tank Vessel, " the
standard was included as Appendix A
in the " Regulations Governing Marine
Fire Hazards. " Updates occurred over
the next two decades, and in 1947
a completely revised standard was
prepared and issued as NFPA 306 by
NFPA and a joint committee of the
ABS.
An excerpt from the early standard
illustrates the range of practices it
covered: " Tanks shall be cleaned
or steamed, then ventilated, then
inspected and tested by the certified
competent chemist, whose ability
and reliability shall be attested to by
the ABS. Where the workspaces also
involve adjacent spaces, no repair
work permitted until those spaces
have also been treated by cleaning,
steaming, and ventilating to meet gas
free condition. If the oil or sediment
has not been completely removed,
the certified chemist must advise the
repairer at the time of delivery of
the gas free certificate of any further
cleaning and testing that is required
during the actual work. Use of wind
sails or forced or induced draft ventilation
is required while work is
in progress to ensure conditions do
not change. Note that the entrant is
tied to a rope being managed by two
NFPA Journal - Winter 2021

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