Key Aspects:
- A cruiser spotted crew members installing a new funnel fire suppression system on a recent sailing onboard Carnival Conquest.
- The high-powered hoses were installed after Carnival Freedom experienced two separate funnel fires in two years.
- It’s unclear when or if these extra fire safety measures will make their way onto additional Carnival ships, but an eventual fleet-wide rollout wouldn’t be surprising.
Fires are one of the most dangerous emergencies that can occur on a cruise ship because of the potential for catastrophic system failures and because it can be difficult to escape fast-spreading flames in a confined space.
Though fires at sea are rare, the cruise lines take precautions such as training a dedicated onboard firefighting team and using fire-resistant materials as much as possible.
Carnival Cruise Line, however, is taking fire safety a step further.
A recent guest of Carnival Conquest noticed that a new funnel fire suppression system was installed and tested during their sailing.
The fire system, which is essentially a solid red hose, was installed on the outer deck railings on both the port and starboard sides of the ship facing the funnel. It was also cordoned off for guest safety.
“Just got off Conquest yesterday, and wanted to share an interesting photo of a device that was recently installed on the ship to combat a funnel fire (like what happened to Freedom),” the cruiser shared on Reddit.
The poster is referencing an unusual event in March of 2024, during which Carnival Freedom’s exhaust funnel caught fire after being struck by lightning.
“From what I was told, the Conquest is the first ship in the fleet to be fitted with an extreme volume/pressure fire hose device. They installed 2 of these (one on each side), and were doing late-night testing of them during my cruise,” the passenger continued.
“I guess during the Freedom incidents, the fire hoses that were used didn’t have the water pressure to shoot water high enough to reach the flames. Well, these bad boys can!”
Read Also: From Mishaps to Maydays – Cruise Ship Accidents
Carnival Conquest has not experienced any fires of its own, making it an interesting choice to give this ship the new fire safety tools first.
Carnival has not yet commented publicly about the introduction of the superior hoses, and it’s unclear when or if they will be installed onboard additional ships. That said, a fleet-wide rollout seems likely.
Learning From Past Fires
Assuming the cruiser who shared the news is correct, it’s nice to see Carnival learning from past events in order to be better prepared in the unlikely event of another fire in the future.
With Carnival Freedom’s whale-tail fire still fresh in recent memory, it only makes sense that the cruise line would take action to be better prepared for a funnel fire in the future.
The damage from the 2024 fire was so bad that the Freedom-class flagship had to cancel her next two sailings.
But while the odds of getting hit by lightning twice are approximately one in 9 million, fires can also break out for other reasons, such as fuel leaks, hot spots, or engine room failures.
The 2,980-guest ship’s funnel also caught fire in 2022 while the vessel was docked in Grand Turk, Turks and Caicos (not due to lightning) – and two fires in two years is not a good look.
In addition to these new, stronger hoses, all Carnival ships would also be equipped with other fire hoses and plenty of fire extinguishers.
In addition, every ship has a sprinkler system running through all passenger and crew areas, and thousands of smoke detectors.
Per the cruise line’s website, a standard Carnival ship has approximately 3,500 smoke detectors. If smoke or flames are detected, an alarm will sound on the ship’s bridge, which is monitored 24/7.
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All fire safety practices meet the standards set by organizations like the International Maritime Organization and the US Coast Guard, and ships are subject to quarterly safety inspections.
Safety is and always has been the top priority for Carnival Cruise Line, and this newest project is another reflection of just how true that is.
