NTSB reports on $3M Johnny M towboat fire

Local firefighters fighting the fire aboard Johnny M.[(Source: East Marshall Fire Department]

A catastrophic engine failure led to a fire aboard the towboat Johnny M last year, the National Transportation Safety Board said Tuesday.

The fire broke out on Jan. 30, 2024, when the 2019-built, 88-foot Johnny M, owned and operated by Terral River Service, was pushing four barges on the Tennessee River near Grand Rivers, Ky.

The six crewmembers aboard were unable to extinguish the fire using the CO2 fixed-fire-extinguishing system and abandoned ship to a Good Samaritan vessel.

Local fire departments extinguished the fire. No injuries or pollution were reported. Damage to the vessel totaled $3 million.​

​NTSB investigators found that the vessel Johnny M was not outfitted with covers for the main engine combustion air intake openings. When the port main engine failed catastrophically, exposed ducting in the engine room was consumed by the resulting fire, allowing oxygen in and carbon dioxide from the fixed-fire-extinguishing system to escape.

“The flexible ducting providing combustion air to the main engines on board the Johnny M extended from the engine stacks on the main deck down to the engine room and did not have any insulation or other barriers to prevent the passage of smoke, heat, and fire—known as structural fire protection,” the report said. “Identifying potentially unprotected openings and ducting into a fire-protected space and incorporating structural fire protection can ensure the effectiveness of a fixed fire-extinguishing system and prevent the spread of fire.”

Probable cause

The National Transportation Safety Board determines that the probable cause of the engine room fire on the towing vessel Johnny M was a catastrophic main engine failure that caused the venting and ignition of hot atomized lube oil. Contributing to the ineffectiveness of the carbon dioxide fixed fire extinguishing system was the lack of structural fire protection for the main engines’ combustion air intake ducting, which allowed oxygen to enter the engine room once the fire consumed the ducting.

Lessons learned

Structural fire protection:The flexible ducting providing combustion air to the main engines on board the Johnny M extended from the engine stacks on the main deck down to the engine room and did not have any insulation or other barriers to prevent the passage of smoke, heat, and fire—known as structural fire protection. This type of unprotected ducting has the potential to provide a pathway for fixed fire extinguishing agents, such as carbon dioxide, to escape and air to enter the engine room if the ducting is compromised by a fire within the space. Identifying potentially unprotected openings and ducting into a fire-protected space and incorporating structural fire protection can ensure the effectiveness of a fixed fire extinguishing system and prevent the spread of fire.

• Read the full NTSB report HERE