VIKING Life-Saving Equipment has secured a major order for its unique container fire-fighting tool HydroPen™, following a decision by the CMA CGM Group, a global player in sea, land, air and logistics solutions to adopt the solution across its entire fleet.
In 2020, CMA CGM ordered HydroPen™ sets to equip its larger containerships. The latest order means that CMA CGM will use the system on over 270 ships.
Increasingly, the benefits of HydroPen™ as a firefighting solution have been recognized by owners operating smaller, as well as larger, container vessels. The solution was also recently ordered for the first time by a marine salvage customer, for deployment as a ‘response kit’ to container fires on ships.
Where conventional solutions use ‘boundary cooling’ to dowse fires from outside the container, HydroPen™ is attached to the deck hose as a combined drill and spray unit which penetrates the door of the box before extinguishing the fire at source. Working on or below deck, HydroPen™ is put into position by a crew member using a telescopic device to fight fires from a distance at any level, with the drilling action driven by pressure in the hose. Users need minimal training, while HydroPen™ is equally compatible for use with water, foam, or CO2.