TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums US VI and Puerto Rico Explosion on Boat in Great Cruz Bay?

Facebook posts (Steve Simonsen Photography) indicates there was an explosion aboard a charter cat in Great Cruz Bay today with injuries. Does anyone have information or updates?

The FB post was removed.

The event is under investigation. I expect a statement will be made once the facts are reconciled. There were injuries. It could happen to any cruiser. Scary. We were off island and I did a safety check when we returned to our liveaboard.

RickG

Very scary Rick. I heard it was a charter. Any update on that?

This is the 1st news article I have seen locally.

https://stthomassource.com/content/2021/04/17/two-injured-in-explosion-aboard-vessel-off-stj/

Seems hard to understand a Diesel charterboat exploding. Looks like a FP44. I hope they find the reason to avoid a repeat. I once was on a friends boat who stored spare dinghy gas in the engine compartment. I politely suggested that might not be the best place to keep gas. LP gas scares the heck out of me but if I recall the FP44 has dedicated LP storage so I don’t see that as a issue.
G

Sounds like they either had the 1lb disposable propane tanks and one leaked due to corrosion or someone finished cooking and turned the gas off at the the propane switch and left the stoves gas valve open and when they went to use the stove they turned on the propane switch and the gas filled the cabin

I read somewhere that it was a CYOA boat. Anyone hear which one it may have been if that’s true?

The article said it was Carpe Aura.

Let’s hope we get a accurate answer to what happened so we can improve safety on all charterboats.
G

We chartered this vessel last July, and will be very interested to hear the cause of this accident.

Decades ago, while sailing with good friends, we utilized a 2 person practice every da*n time we needed or wanted to use propane for cooking. Always, always, always, one person at the propane tank locker to turn on the tank valve, and a second person in the salon to switch on at the breaker board to allow gas feed to the galley. When finished with breakfast/lunch/dinner/snack/whatever, the SAME two people reversed the procedure to close it all back up. Always 2 people, and always the same 2 people as heads/tails.

All of this done because on a boat, LP gas is going to sink to the lowest point in the hull (hulls if a cat ).

People who don't sail don't know to worry about LP sinking inside the boat. Learning the best practice ways to stay safe is part of how you become responsible crew.

We had LP sensors in the bilge of our boat. Talk about needing new shorts when one went off one night. Malfunction, they have a shelf life, similar to the CO2 at your home that will start scream in almost exactly 7 years after purchase.

I think most boats being delivered into charter now have LP sensors. I know our boat does. I suspect the accident boat would have had them. Sounds like this may have been in the engine compartment which would be isolated from LP. It would be great to hear the cause in the interests of safety however I fear that if lawyers are involved nothing will be released.

George - What brand of LP detector you have mounted on your boat and where is it located? Is it battery operated or tied into the 12v system?

I don't have one on my boat, but all 3 propane tanks are in sealed lockers with downward overboard vents.

I believe it is a Xintec but until I get down there in June could not tell you which model. I think pretty much all newer boats have isolated propane lockers. I think the worry is a leak in the plumbing into the galley area. Still with modern systems that have remote shutoff valves at the tanks and heat sensing safety sensors on the stove and oven it seems like a leak leading to a catastrophe is unlikely.

To update the LPG system on my boat it is actually a Trident system. It is both a detection and control system that will monitor for gas in 3 locations and shut off gas at the bottle if it detects a leak.
P.S. The boat owners manual has lots of useful information like don’t use a flame to check for propane leaks!

Any updates as to cause? Will the boat be repairable?
G

You know how these things work - survey, claims adjuster, subrogation, finger pointing... We may never find out.

Cheers, RickG