Enhanced Fire Protection for Engine Rooms

At sea, fires can have destroying  effects: if flames break out on a ship, help is generally many sea miles away. Therefore, such situations require an efficient fire extinguishing technology available in order to mitigate the risk of fire. Minimax has expanded the high pressure water mist extinguishing system Minifog marine XP for use in engine rooms and cargo pump rooms  of up to 8,235 m* volume. With this, Minimax meets the stricter requirements, especially on board of cruise ships. After all, when a ship with thousands of passengers is alone at the open sea, the system must be able to suppress and control fires quickly without external help.
Minimax has experience in fine spray extinguishing technology, which is also known as water mist technology, and now applies this system to new dimensions. The Minifog marine XP high pressure water mist extinguishing system reduces water requirements by 90% compared to classic sprinkler systems, whilst still offering the same extinguishing yield. This offers a range of advantages for ships. For example, it significantly reduces the risk of damages to vessel technology outside of the fire area, passengers protecting optimally and reducing extinguishing water consumption with the same scope of protection. This is possible through the specially developed sprinklers and nozzles which use water mist to combat fires efficiently whilst simultaneously cooling the area. A further technical development has enabled Minimax to expand its previously used system Minifog marine XP from 3,348 m* to engine rooms and cargo pump rooms with a volume of up to 8,235 m*, in accordance to IMO 1165 standard.
Especially in passenger shipping, tonnage is increasing considerably. Whereas the largest cruise ship stretched 311 metres in length in 2006, the record holder in 2011 now boasts a length of 360 metres. Accordingly, engine rooms are growing, too. Today*s giants of the sea host engine rooms with several diesel engines with more than 80,000 HP in total. Top levels of safety at sea requires a system which can detects fires in their initial phase and immediately extinguished. Only this way can equipment be protected from consequential damage and the cruise continued. In order to meet these new requirements, the Minifog marine XP system successfully passed fire tests in accordance with the regulation IMO 1165 for engine rooms and cargo pump rooms with a volume of up to 8,235 m*.
In the protected room, a pipe network is installed with open Minifog nozzles, which are organised in extinguishing areas via selector valves. In the event of a fire, the selector valve opens, the Minifog nozzles convert the extinguishing water into water mist and the fire is quickly extinguished.
Minimax Minifog marine XP systems have a range of additional benefits: space and weight are reduced, since the extinguishing water, which is decreased by up to 90% compared to classic sprinkler systems, also functions with pipes, pumps and other components with less mass and space requirements. The lower space requirements for the pipe system also facilitate retrofitting in older vessels. The Minimax high pressure fine spray system Minifog marine XP fulfils the current regulations IMO A800 and IMO 1165 for safe fire protection on seagoing and inland navigation vessels.