In the field of marine loss prevention we need only consider fires and crankshaft bearing failures and we will have addressed the largest and the most frequent categories of hull and machinery losses respectively. The majority of fires are those caused by flammable liquids reaching hot surfaces and are easily preventable — just eliminate the ignition point. SOLAS has gone some way to addressing this but it is poorly interpreted and applied. A simple requirement to have all marine engines fitted with water jacketed exhaust systems would be the most effective solution.
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