Star Fire Construction & Design Concerns

[wildabouttheworld]

I see where you are going but dont necessarily agree. If a persons carelessness or lack of consideration for others ruins their own vacation than I honestly feel sorry for them. If they forget to turn off the coffee pot and burn the pot and have to smell burnt coffee all week it does not bother me. If there is hard liquor given to an underaged teen that falls off the balcony, that would be a tragedy for them and for their family but caused by their own actions none the less. If a passenger is considering bringing a crockpot onboard to cook during a cruise, then they have issues that only a professional can address. Point I am trying to make is this: all actions have consequenses. if your actions infringe or cause harm to others, rules should be established to prevent it and protect others. If the best way to protect people from ever having to deal with another Star tragedy is to ban smoking on the balconies and in the cabins then I would fully support the measure. Thats all I am trying to say. My April 16 Star cruise for 17 of my family members was cancelled and I am truly dissapointed. I am equally saddened that the tragic fire ever happened and effected so many thousands of people. If the cause is ever determined and it turns out to be due to a cigarette or a candle, I hope measures are taken to ensure it never happens again. Its just my opinion and I feel strongly about but I dont want to use this board to debate the issue so I wont comment after this post.

[Cindy]

I think the new regulations came in right around the time Star came into service – the Sun Class ships are teak, and I believe Grand Princess is as well – don’t know about Golden.

 

The Grand has teak decking. I don't know about Golden either.

[Globaliser]

If you think there is an issue on cruiseships, do some reseach on airlines-particularily reseach that relates the materials that are used in the cabin. You will be shocked. Highly flammable, highly toxic materials are the norm. Next to nothing has been done by the FAA or other bodies in this regard....again a very powerful industry lobby that puts money well ahead of cabin safety. And a travelling public that wants the lowest possible fares.

This is absolute rubbish, fit only for the worst sort of scaremongering gutter-press.

 

The aviation industry spends vast amounts of money in reducing the risk of fire, in rigorous testing of the cabin materials used, and in developing better ways of fighting fires that occur.

[Goldryder]

This is absolute rubbish, fit only for the worst sort of scaremongering gutter-press.

 

The aviation industry spends vast amounts of money in reducing the risk of fire, in rigorous testing of the cabin materials used, and in developing better ways of fighting fires that occur.

 

 

To back up Globaliser here, from 2007 all brand new airliners will be fitted with nitrous oxide fire suppresant gas systems fitted in their fuel tanks as a direct result of the TWA800 accident where the center tank that was almost empty exploded due to a build up of fumes combined with broken insulation of the wiring to the fuel sender units. In the mean time aircraft have been retrofitted with this equipment since 2005. The only flammable thing aboard an aircraft is the oxygen on board. Everything else is fire proofed to an extreme level wherever possible.

 

The fire aboard this ship has no known cause at the moment, the general public will be the last to know as the owners/operators will be notified first, especially if there are design/material changes to be made.

 

There is no comparison tween airlines and cruise lines in respect to their safety. They both comply to the highest standards or they do not operate, they fail even the slightest regulation and they have their operating certification removed.

[Druke I]

As noted elsewhere, SOLAS (Safety of Life at Sea) treaties are constantly being reviewed, and periodically updated. Among other things, SOLAS had a mjaor impact on lifeboat placement on new ships - which you may have noticed has been fairly well standardized re deck level, etc, with very few ships remaining with boats mounted high on superstructure.

 

I believe the next update is due in 2008 or 2009, and of course, there is much speculation whether or not QE2 will be able to make the updates. QE2 is one of the older ships curerently operating with many updates.

[Goldryder]

As noted elsewhere, SOLAS (Safety of Life at Sea) treaties are constantly being reviewed, and periodically updated. Among other things, SOLAS had a mjaor impact on lifeboat placement on new ships - which you may have noticed has been fairly well standardized re deck level, etc, with very few ships remaining with boats mounted high on superstructure.

 

I believe the next update is due in 2008 or 2009, and of course, there is much speculation whether or not QE2 will be able to make the updates. QE2 is one of the older ships curerently operating with many updates.

 

 

The next update is SOLAS 2010. QE2 has undergone $40m in alterations to pass the regulations, which included having vertical stairtowers and not the old fashioned dogleg design. There will be alot more ships that do not pass these regulations and they will be scrapped or converted to casino/hotel ships. The main reason for getting QE2 through is entirely due to passenger pressure, she is a very well loved liner and she now has about 13-15 years service in her before she requires further major refurbishment, other than the annual tidy-ups and running maintenance that all ships have.

[Princess Chatterer]

"Balconies are constructed of aluminum, which melts at about 800 degrees," Thompson said. He cautioned against jumping to any conclusions but said "we understand it was a hot fire and built quickly. There was something to support the fire but we don't know what."

 

The interior of the ship has fire zones with doors that are closed to contain a blaze, but such fire breakers don't extend to the exterior of the ship, Thompson said."

 

http://www.chicagotribune.com/travel/chi-0604010337apr02,1,6616514.story?coll=chi-travel-hed&ctrack=1&cset=true