CalMac Ferry Experiences Uncontrolled Methane Gas Release Due to Faulty Valve
A critical failure in the gas fuel system on CalMac's MV Glen Sannox ferry led to an uncontrolled release of highly flammable methane gas in June last year.
The incident, which occurred while the ship was carrying 82 passengers from Arran to the mainland, saw 700kg of methane vented over a period of 12 minutes. This amount is enough to fill a four-bedroom house.
The crew initially tried to restart the engine on gas before realizing that methane was escaping from the side of the ship. Engineers had to physically shut the valve because it was not responding to electrical control.
The failed valve, which was designed by Finnish firm Wartsila, was later found to have a damaged metal casing due to another component working loose. This caused the valve to fail and default to an open position, allowing high-pressure LNG fuel to escape through the vent pipe.