Fire Hazard Prevention — Why the 2026 CIC Is Targeting Your Vessel

PSC Are Coming — And They Are Specifically Looking for Fire Hazards

Transport Canada has designated 2026’s Concentrated Inspection Campaign focus as Fire Hazard Prevention. CICs are coordinated, targeted campaigns where port state control officers across a MOU region inspect every vessel against a specific checklist of requirements. Fail the CIC items and you risk detention. But the CIC also points to something more important than inspection results: fire at sea remains one of the leading causes of serious marine casualties and crew fatalities. The inspection campaign exists because the industry has a demonstrated fire prevention problem.

What the CIC Will Check

Fixed Fire Detection and Alarm Systems

Are all detection heads operational? Are alarm panels showing any faults? When were the systems last tested and serviced? Detectors that have been painted over, disconnected, or bypassed to silence nuisance alarms are a recurring finding — and a serious one.

Fixed Firefighting Systems

CO2 systems, foam systems, water mist systems — are they properly maintained, within service date, and correctly charged? Are activation procedures posted and understood by crew? Has the crew been trained in the limitations of each system, including what it cannot extinguish (lithium-ion fires, for instance)?

Portable Fire Extinguishers

Are all portable extinguishers within their service date? Are they correctly mounted in accessible locations? Are the correct types present for the hazard areas they serve — CO2 for electrical spaces, foam or dry powder for engine room bilges? Are any missing from mounts or hidden behind equipment?

Engine Room Fire Hazards

Fuel oil and lube oil leaks onto hot surfaces are the primary cause of engine room fires. Lagging condition, oil mist detector function, bilge cleanliness, and the integrity of fuel and oil line connections will all be scrutinised. A single uncleaned oil leak on an exhaust manifold that has been “noted for repair” is both a detention risk and a fire risk.

Crew Training and Drills

PSC officers will check drill records, muster lists, and may question crew directly on fire response procedures. Can your crew explain their fire station duties? Do they know how to operate the fixed CO2 system? Have fire drills been conducted monthly and documented? Crew who cannot explain their duties are a clear flag.

Galley Fire Prevention

Galley fires are a significant source of vessel fires. Grease accumulation in extraction systems, deep fat fryers without functioning auto-shutoffs, and portable cooking equipment in accommodation are all known hazards. When did your galley extraction duct last receive a professional clean?

Use the CIC as a Genuine Self-Inspection

Schedule a fire safety walkthrough this week — not the standard weekly inspection, but a dedicated examination with PSC eyes. Take your second officer and your chief engineer. Walk every space with the question: what would a PSC officer put on a deficiency notice here? Fix what you find before they do.

The vessel that gets detained is rarely one that started out with a bad fire safety culture. It is more often one where standards gradually eroded — a detector here, a drill missed there, an oil leak deferred — until the cumulative picture became one that no PSC officer could ignore. Prevention is exponentially cheaper than detention, remediation, or catastrophe.

Related Reading

• Kommandor Susan MAIB 2026 — a real engine room fire caused by deferred maintenance assumptions
• Vessel Fire Safety — what the marine insurance data says about fire causes and prevention
• Lithium-Ion Batteries — ensure your fire detection and suppression plans address thermal runaway
• Engine High Temperature Alarms — PSC will check your crew know exactly what to do in the first 90 seconds
• CHIRP Annual Digest — fire-related near-misses and the maintenance failures behind them