Maintenance Error Leads to $1.2 Million Fire

On April 29, 2022, the 600-foot-long chemical tanker, the Endo Breeze, was in the Raritan Bay between New York and New Jersey when oil spray from a fuel injector pump on the starboard main engine ignited off nearby hot surfaces and caused a fire. The crew successfully stopped the fire from spreading by removing fuel and oxygen sources and activating the vessel's fixed fire extinguishing system. However, while no pollution or injuries were reported, the blaze still caused some $1.2 million in damage.Last week, the NTSB traced the root cause to a maintenance error. Investigators found a slight offset on the banjo tube assembly on the engine's no. 1 cylinder fuel injector pump. According to the NTSB, the engineer performing maintenance likely failed to correctly follow the manufacturer's procedure for fuel injector pump reassembly when performing maintenance a day before the fire.