Acetylene and Oxygen Cylinder Misplacement Led to Potential Explosion Risk on Ship

According to the investigation, it was found that the acetylene and oxygen cylinders were not stored in the designated location at the stern of the ship, as they should have been. Instead, the ship's crew took it upon themselves to move the cylinders to the mast room. However, the mast room is small and does not meet the required safety distance for storing acetylene and oxygen cylinders, which should be at least 5 meters apart. As a result, the acetylene and oxygen cylinders were placed in close proximity to each other in the mast room.

Furthermore, random testing conducted at the explosion site revealed a significant amount of residual gas in the oxygen cylinders. This raises concerns that there might also be residual acetylene present in the acetylene cylinders. The mixed storage of acetylene and oxygen cylinders in the mast room creates a potential situation where oxygen and acetylene could be mixed together.

In conclusion, due to the improper storage and close proximity of acetylene and oxygen cylinders in the mast room, there is a risk of a potentially hazardous mixture of oxygen and acetylene gases.