You Can Smoke On A Fuel Tanker! So Why Is This Sign Here?

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In this video, we explore why the "No Smoking" sign on a tanker doesn't just mean No Smoking.
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[@SeaGamer4life]

If I ever see a tanker with “NO HEAVY PETTING” written across the front of the accomodation block, I will consider my life complete.

[@A190xx]

It gets lonely at sea for weeks on end

[@Dave_Sisson]

If it is done well, heavy petting does create sparks between the people involved. Thus the warning.

[@xxxggthyf]

When I was a kid, but old enough to already know the answer, I loved asking the teachers that took us swimming what 'heavy petting' meant. They never answered 😀

[@elmurcis1]

I mean - sometimes (in relatively dry air) petting cat can be wild experience where one must avoid "ending" pet on cats ears or it could ignite "gases". Just saying.

[@A190xx]

@@Dave_Sisson One should lubricate to reduce the risk

[@ibalrog]

No Heavy Petting in the *Danger* *Zone?* And they wonder why it's so hard to hire new mariners.

[@CaymanIslandsCatWalks]

Seaman on the deck

[@grizwoldphantasia5005]

It generates too much static electricity.

[@ol_smokey9370]

Fun haters

[@infernaldaedra]

Static

[@synergy021]

@@infernaldaedra Danger Danger! High voltage

[@richardgonzalez6409]

The heavy petting sign took me off guard and I got very concerned.

[@moocowpong1]

I guess that counts as a static electricity risk…

[@herzogsbuick]

clearly, someone's never seen a Gilbert and Sullivan musical.

[@SeekingTheLoveThatGodMeans7648]

@Anne Frank Vape Pen Since the cargo of a fuel tanker will not attract rats or mice, at least not of any ordinary kind, a cat would be redundant, and static electricity would be a danger anyhow. That said, Exxon still has a tiger for your tank.

[@JohnSmith-fq3rg]

@Cyber Ghost Use dryer antistatic sheets when doing your laundry, it helps.

[@MrDmitriRavenoff]

Sounds like a boring voyage. Lol

[@ProfessorSuperschlau]

2:33 "No heavy petting" guess i'll have to pet my cat elsewhere

[@qovro]

That depends on how much your cat and you weigh.

[@justayoutuber1906]

wrong kind of kitty

[@jimsvideos7201]

Aviation has a paranoia about sparks from static electricity that is an artifact of the era of high-test gasoline. It's still good practice of course but jet fuel is sufficiently difficult to ignite reliably that jet engines have _terrifyingly_ powerful igniters.

[@SheepInACart]

None of this is an artifact from a bygone era, most of the electronics regulation (and indeed even limits on smoking) is far newer than widespread use of jets. Keep in mind JetA and JetA1 aren't the only fuels used by jet aircraft, even if the most common, all engines are designed for a much larger range of fuels, most of which are more voilitile. For example even a civilian passenger liner operating out of an extremely cold region might use a "wide cut" fuel (more light distillates), and these produce massive amounts of flammable vapor in a hot climate... yet the aircraft might take off in the cold and land in the hot without changing fuel, and even if transitioning to another route it doesn't normally pump the old fuel out, it simply tops off the tanks with the cheaper alternatives. Likewise regarding luck, you can drop a match into a bucket of kersonene 99x and have it go out without incident, the concern is the one time something DOES happen.

[@SeekingTheLoveThatGodMeans7648]

@@SheepInACart The flash point of ordinary kerosene is well over 100 degrees Fahrenheit, so at most ambient temperatures there will not be a concentrated enough vapor hovering over the kerosene to be ignited by a flame in ordinary air. (It is the vapor which burns, not the liquid.) When it's really torrid out, bets are off.

[@Curt_Sampson]

Jet fuel doesn't ignite _reliably,_ but there are plenty of situations on aircraft where it will quite happily ignite outside of the engines. Quite a few aircraft have been destroyed by ignition of fuel vapours in their tanks, Philippine Airlines Flight 143, TWA flight 800 and Thai Airways International Flight 114 being just three fairly well known examples.

[@sulawesi-steve]

While we are at it, jet fuel doesn't melt steel beams 😂😂😂🤣🤣🤣😉

[@dirrey193]

Sounds like old traditions are still kept up *cough* zeppelins *cough*

[@grondhero]

Something I didn't know a while back (not sure if it'd be interesting enough to cover) is that you can take cruises on freighter, cargo, and tanker ships. I watched a few videos about people who did that and in one of them, they were on deck at a port and one of the guests was smoking (cigar, I think) and the *NO SMOKING* was in the background. I was like WTF?

[@astize]

Had something similar happen. During my marine electrical engineering diploma we had the opportunity to visit a tanker while it was discharging. One of my classmates thought it was hilarious to vape underneath the gigantic red no smoking sign while his friend took a photo. That same photo resurfaced when a potential employer checked his social media, and he did not get the job.

[@moneybilla]

@@astize yea that last part would be obvious dude said lemme bring this coil to a glowing red on this tanker ship😂🤦🏽‍♂️

[@moneybilla]

@@astize yea that last part would be obvious dude said lemme bring this coil to a glowing red on this tanker ship😂🤦🏽‍♂️

[@amahlaka]

How can one take cruises on freighters etc? That sounds super intresting

[@derdurstbursch]

@@amahlaka all i have found was super expensive

[@TheAtoll]

Aw yes, I remember seeing "No Smoking" on the Exxon Valdez at the end of Waterworld. Ironic because it's the "Smokers" lair!

[@Vinemaple]

And it made little sense, too, to have that on the stern. I think they were trying way too hard to be cute. As if a vessel like the EXXON VALDEZ wouldn't get a name change in record time.

[@merafirewing6591]

@@Vinemaple kinda surprising that it was still afloat in the movie. Until the Mariner blew it up to kingdom come.

[@Vinemaple]

@@merafirewing6591 Exactly. Speaking of "trying too hard to be cute," that reveal almost spoiled the movie for me. The last floating tanker in the world won't be a Liberian-flagged hulk, but something that was taken good care of, by responsible and possibly even publicly known, owners and operators.

[@sawekch9600]

Intrinsic safety is just one of many ways to design devices in explosion atmospheres. For pumps, lights etc it more commont to have explosion proof housing, And that means that housing of the device can handle explosion inside the machine without getting outside intrinsic safety means that even when there is arc on the device it carries so little power that would not be enough to generate explosion. Explosion atmospheres is a really wide topic and there is few more ways to ensure safety.

[@CapablePimento]

Electrician or engineer?

[@sawekch9600]

@@CapablePimento automation engineer

[@radosawkapuscinski2808]

Thanks for your comment, I learned something new.

[@aasakti_]

actually, explosion proof housing is more likely to be used rather than IS equipment.

[@Jonas_Aa]

Finally someone who knows what it is about. Ex-d Ex-Ia Ex-e is what we work with.

[@gunterdapenguin5896]

Working at the docks, basically on every ship there're massive "no smoking" signs but no one ever follows them, the only time I've seen anyone get into trouble for smoking on a ship was when one of my colleagues was smoking right beside a boat full of literal explosives for the military that was going to green land, the captain was pissed and we all laughed like hell at it, he could've blown up the entire port lmao

[@TUDORMARCU16]

I guess they are mostly for legal/insurance reasons. I can't really imagine the ship's crew is strictly abiding by the no smoking rule.

[@eaglescout1984]

There is also such a thing as explosion proof electrical fittings. These are conduit fittings that are filled with a sealant after wire has been pulled. From that point on, the raceway (conduit and boxes) are rated to be used in areas with flammable vapors and devices like switches are fully contained in their housing with a sealed mechanism that works them. This guarantees flammable vapors can't reach spark producing devices. If you ever seen a conduit group outside a gas station and saw where each one had a fitting with a plug, then you've seen explosion proof fittings.

[@ronblack7870]

those are called seals. they are filled with cement literally . yes they prevent burning gasses from transferring through conduit. but explosion proof housings are not airtight . they are designed to contain an internal explosion and vent the gasses through a long path that cools the exploding gasses to below an ignition temp. could be long threads on a fitting or large flat landing area of a box lid.

[@davecooper3238]

At the time I installed and serviced them the fittings were known as ‘Flame Proof’ but that was six decades ago. They may be called something different these days.

[@marvindebot3264]

That's what "Intrinsically safe" means mate.

[@ke6gwf]

@@marvindebot3264 no, IS means that it is designed to be UNABLE to create enough heat to cause ignition, for instance by using very low voltages and oversized circuit board traces to prevent overheating. Explosion proof means that in the worst case scenario, if the housing becomes filled with an explosive gas and it ignites, the case is strong enough to contain the explosion. For instance, fire department flashlights are Explosion Proof, and they have thick enough shells to contain an internal explosion to prevent external ignition.

[@R_McGeddon117]

I used to love watching lightning bolts smashing on to the deck and brilliantly illuminating the no smoking sign

[@drockjr]

The No Heavy Petting made my day. How else will morale improve? Have a heavy petting room too

[@SeekingTheLoveThatGodMeans7648]

That was clearly a bit of drollery, though even modern policies probably frown on fraternization of the crew while on duty.

[@drockjr]

@@SeekingTheLoveThatGodMeans7648 who said with other crew?! A private, solo, heavy petting room 🤣

[@NoNameAtAll2]

2:33 "No heavy petting" Dog that wants pets: :(

[@justayoutuber1906]

lol. your mind is too clean

[@Comet-2011-W3-Lovejoy]

No more seamen? :(

[@iamunamed5800]

No, it's a cat actually..

[@Lucius_Chiaraviglio]

The No Smoking sign also appears on some non-tanker ships -- I have seen videos of bulk carriers with the same giant lettering on them. In this case, they might be worried about igniting something like grain dust (which, by the way, can explode under the right circumstances of mixing with air).

[@moneybilla]

hell grain dust can self/ spontaneously combust or explode like those silo grain bombs essentially that happen on farms from time to time due to the same thing

[@mnxs]

@@moneybilla I mean, you're dealing with some _waaay_ freakier chemistry than mere grain dust if it can _literally_ self-combust. But yeah, it doesn't take much

[@Scrapps97]

@@mnxs static from flowing grain, human, spark, boom.

[@pseudolullus]

Metallic dust isn't any better

[@conorlanders8401]

Flour can create its own static charge so ot can effectively self combust under the right conditions

[@Oilburnerful]

Thanks for the informative video. Something we use in aviation is flame arrestors. Which is just a screen with holes of a certain size around brushed electrical motors or other spark sources. Oxygen and fuel vapors can get though. But any flame that ignites inside is stopped by the screen. It's crazy to watch a fireball just stop dead at a thin metal mesh.

[@toonamimaki285]

A tanker does have a flame arrestor, installed at the mast riser, where pressure from expanded gas is released. Ours gets replaced every voyage (45~ days).

[@sgoheibhrin894]

Tankers use inert gas to dispalce oxygen, and PV (pressure / vacuum) valves to help regulate pressure in the tanks. There are flame screens fitted in the mast riser.

[@Triggernlfrl]

Most ships nowedays has flame arrestors on the airpipes coming from the feul bunkers.

[@LSR303]

It seems like there's a new animator on the team? Nicely done!

[@stephanieparker1250]

A fairly cheeky one, apparently 😅

[@LSR303]

@@stephanieparker1250 I saw a post a while ago that he was searching for animators. That's why I had a feeling he found one and perhaps even the right one! Depth of field, more detail in the ships and harbours, signs illustrated etc. Surely the new animator wanted to make a good impression, and I hope it will continue. It's a step forward for this great channel.

[@stephanieparker1250]

@@LSR303 🙌🙌🙌🙌🙌🌟

[@LSR303]

@@stephanieparker1250 Are you an engineer as well? I just checked out the channels which you're subscribed to. I got back to this comment because people keep liking it. I'm a civil engineer myself, specialising in watermanagement and hydraulical structures. Wondering what field you were in!

[@lsixty30]

If you’ll let me nitpick, it’s not sparks, it’s electrical arcs within electronics that you’re describing. Great video and channel , love it.

[@lsixty30]

Arcs are “small lightning” jumping through air between two metal points just as you described, but sparks are small ultra hot particles that were rubbed off of something. One is small lightning, one is a small piece of something very hot. I’m sure you know this already since it’s a common misuse of the word “spark”.

[@mrburne3043]

I'm so trigerred by the pneumatic impact wrench being plugged on the wrong port of the pressure regulator! Nice video still!

[@dd_ranchtexas4501]

MrBurne: And at 4:12 the hose at the bottom of the regulator isn't connected to the hose to the tool. A break that looks like two hoses just "pushed" almost together for the pix......

[@Kalvinjj]

And I'm a bit triggered (just poking fun actually) at the sparks happening on the circuit on pads on the same track. It's just one of those "merely for illustrative purposes" kind of things.

[@thewhitefalcon8539]

@@Kalvinjj 70% of the things in the electronics picture probably never cause sparks too (not by design but because the power is so low)

[@StrokeMahEgo]

Easter eggs discovered

[@ZanderKaneUK]

I was looking over a Coast Guard exam/inspection the other day for work. It listed that the smoking room must be a dedicated room and its' entry exit door is not an extior deck door. Also while in port it is not uncommon to have compulsory watchmen/fireguard aboard while vessel is discharging or loading.

[@Vinemaple]

Love the swinging ladles! And the bulging fuel hoses... I remember Kaiser-class oilers, if you wanted to get to the main deck forward of the house, you had to go via the 01 level, because there were no doors at all between the tank deck and the after section of the main deck, for just this reason. And positive pressure. It's a lifesaver, for sure, but there's nothing quite like a ship that gets passive-aggressive with you, every time you try to open an exterior door.

[@mnxs]

passive-aggressive ship, lol. Love the mental picture, thank you.

[@TheExplosiveGuy]

Reminds me of the time I was working on a Navy destroyer (as a shipyard worker, not military service), we were doing hotwork in the CIC room and had about 30 horsepower all combined worth of ducted ventilation fans to keep the air clean of weld fumes (The Navy _really_ doesn't like contamination in their CIC room, which is full of _very_ expensive computers and equipment), and any time you wanted to go outside you had to partially crack the door (their doors have locking lugs that allow the door to crack slightly open before fully releasing for just this reason), I watched a young and petite female sailor just about get yanked off her feet when she opened the door too quickly🤣, the handles are big chunky heavy things so you can't limp wrist it, so she had a strong grip on it when it let go😂.

[@ericparrish1515]

What do you give a person who can't have one night stand because it won't fit in the back

[@dingus153]

I knew about intrinsically safe devices from the mining industry and never even thought about them being used in shipping, but it makes a lot of sense

[@johnmacdonald1878]

Most of ours came from mining

[@keatoncampbell820]

This is actually something I have a tiny bit of experience with! I had to install a few circuit components above a diesel tank, and my solution for preventing any sparks in the 12V system was to coat all of the circuit boards in a "paint-on electrical tape", essentially a plasti-dip. The components were selected to be overkill for their application, so they didn't resistively generate much heat, and when coated in synthetic rubber, there was no bare-metal. I know people will say diesel is incredibly inert, but I have really quite terrible luck. I actually had a small diesel fire from static discharge to the steel tracks of a bulldozer that I had spilled a little bit of diesel on while refueling it. My boss did not believe me until he saw the fire was only a few inches tall, nowhere near the actual diesel tank, and only my fingertip was burned. I have spontaneously combusted more than once, and never to any injury... yet

[@alperenozturk9235]

This is how commies make spark plugs.

[@FX_MANOR]

When I was apprenticed on a bulk carrier, the entire crew often went against orders and even ignored work safety standards. Even some of the crew brought liquor, the captain of the ship allowed it, even the captain drank it at dinner. Yes, I was very surprised because during the training it was stated that all ship rules had to be obeyed.

[@Vinemaple]

Every ship is different... and there have always been ships out there that are full of people trying to commit "unintentional suicide."

[@PepsiMagt]

What should we do with the drunken sailor, early in the morning?

[@StrokeMahEgo]

The ship rules must be obeyed. On the ship, the Captain makes the ship's rules. Corporate's rules don't necessarily exist at sea.

[@Vinemaple]

@@StrokeMahEgo LMAO that's not how it works in the 21st century, buddy. Some captains these days can't even keep their ships safe because the company is too cheap and has them over a barrel. And, yes, that does mean it can go both ways.

[@moneybilla]

@@Vinemaple if you cant keep a ship safe as its “captain” you got no business even dreaming bout it much less driving one

[@Napoleon_Blownapart]

Its not only on tankers. Almost all ships have that written on the superstructure. Its more for liability reasons. Even if there is no danger of explosion, they write that in there just in case there is an incident and they can claim it was the fault of the crew instead of the company.

[@Sniperboy5551]

Bingo

[@katelights]

I have seen this signage on bulkers too. I live in a port town and they are clearly readable across the harbour.

[@DreadX10]

Dust can also explode!

[@subnormality5854]

Reminds me of the 'wooden shovels' scene on The Wire

[@SeekingTheLoveThatGodMeans7648]

If there is a designated smoking room, it presumably wouldn't have sight of the signs.

[@bubba99009]

Yea all the worst disasters causes by explosions in port have been tied to bulk carriers due stuff like oil not being particularly hazardous compared to something like ammonium nitrate or picric acid or even grain probably.

[@themekfrommars]

I genuinely figured it was no smoking on the entire vessel! Also, compressed air tools with a hammer action would still be a source of ignition . Much like your car door latch in a fuel station...

[@cockatoofan]

would they just not use beryllium bronze parts where sparks could be caused?

[@SeanBZA]

@@cockatoofan Part of the EEX rating for the parts is to make sure of that, so you will find things like air lines are made with carbon loaded vulcanised rubber, as that is static dissipative, and that you will have a lot of hydraulic systems there as well for power. No PVC or nylon air lines, and the light fixtures are very heavy to remain intrinsically safe, even though they have electric power, it travels to the fixtures in heavy steel conduits, and inside the conduits the cable itself is steel wire armoured. Any junctions are also in EEX rated metal boxes, with steel cable glands.

[@chrthiel]

@@SeanBZA Yup. On the last vessel I was on the power cables to the exterior lights ran inside what I'm pretty sure was 1" water pipes, complete with threaded fittings and everything.

[@SeanBZA]

@@chrthiel Well that survives the environment and the pressure well.

[@mnxs]

Your car door latch in fuel stations are problematic because of static electricity discharge, not because the mechanism itself generates sparks. It's especially a problem with young people, who often does not grab anything when moving in or out of the vehicle, thus does not get an opportunity to discharge any static that has built up.

[@bytesandbikes]

Fun fact: air tools are very capable of creating sparks, and must be grounded if you need zero sparks.

[@FerroequinologistofColorado]

Really. I didn’t know that.

[@lXlDarKSuoLlXl]

​@@FerroequinologistofColorado static charges are fun... When you're not over hundreds of thousands of barrels of highly explosive chemicals 😅

[@AnarexicSumo]

So are iron or steel tools though you can’t ground those easily. You need brass

[@DemonSliime]

I went on a cruise on the Norwegian majesty, they told me I can smoke pretty much anywhere outside. And said that if there was no ashtrays, just throw it into the ocean. Which I obviously did not do, I carried around a water bottle with a little bit of water in the bottom and threw them into that and then into the trash.

[@thelast929]

The trash was then collected and deposited overboard a specific number of miles away from shore.

[@rlance2418]

You absolutely cannot throw cigarettes into the ocean. It is illegal for a vessel to discharge that overboard.

[@pizzlerot2730]

That was a truly awesome summary of this phenomenon. I love how you explained the psychology behind it, as well as highlighting how often times such safety signage will choose to call out the most common single or few problem sources so that the information can be conveyed quickly and with gravitas; instead of trying to address a large number of possible problem sources which would require lots of verbiage that most people wouldn't read, and which would limit the ability to express such concepts in an attention-grabbing manner. There's so much thought that goes into designing safety signage that most people never consider, particularly when it comes to signage meant to inform the [untrained] general public about very specific or obscure hazards. And the way that you were able to concisely explain all of this while remaining entertaining was really well done - keep up the great work, mate 👍

[@ethanclupper7034]

I work in these areas, and our clothing even has to be fire resistant, not because of the risk of fire, but due to the fibers being static dispersants. Everything on us and around us are meant to be intrinsically safe. Fascinating bit of engineering

[@jamesclouse9947]

Do they make comfortable intrinsically safe underwear?

[@monhi64]

Wouldn’t that be for fire then? Sounds like you’re describing the static resistant clothing they use to prevent sparks that ignite fumes potentially causing fire and explosions

[@ethanclupper7034]

@@monhi64 I worded it in an odd way, it is for both. Its just difficult to start a fire without a way for a fire to start.

[@kennethreese2193]

When I watch your videos im somewhat boggled by just how few acidents and disasters their are while handling sunch huge volumes of potential dangerous materials

[@GoTownMedia]

When there’s an accident at a factory, some poor dude dies and they settle out of court. When there’s an accident on a ship it often ends up in multiple fatalities and a federal investigation. Which one do you think the govt is concerned with regulating the most?

[@donaldhysa4836]

Long painful collective learning and improvement over centuries

[@whateverrandomnumber]

By the way, smoking areas are not closed during operation: the superstructure has positive air pressure, stopping any outside unwanted gas from getting into it. People smoke in the bridge, in the smoke room (normally the Officer’s Messroom or some nearby room designated for that) and in their own cabins all the time.

[@pcpeasantry3008]

Smoking in cabins is mostly prohibited from the policies of the companies,they put smoke detectors inside them. Even though almost everyone just uses gloves or socks to cover the detectors and smoke like nothing happened

[@robinj1052]

Fuel tankers are basically engineered in the same way as oil/gas rigs or platforms. You've got the safe areas, inside the accomodation/control room/radio room, and everything outside is considered a dangerous area, which requires the use of intrinsically safe equipment. This also applies to walk to work vessels within the 500 m zone of such a platform. Nice video once more, thanks!

[@chris9012]

Seems like the quality of the video just went up another notch. Good job!

[@realvanman1]

I’d have guessed that the crew accommodations / safe zone would have been ahead of the cargo / danger zone. That way all of the heavy petting is upwind of any dangerous gasses.

[@sieevansetiawan4792]

In that case, the crew area will be more vulnerable to the incoming waves.

[@Curt_Sampson]

That creates further problems and expense, though. The propeller and rudder, for fairly obvious reasons, have to be at the rear of the vessel. It's a lot easier to put the engine back there as well, otherwise you need a way to transfer power from the engine in front through the entire ship back to the propeller and rudder, as well as control signals for the rudder etc., which adds additional things going through the cargo area that could generate heat and ignite the cargo and increases risk of a failure of those systems that could, e.g., leave the ship drifting on to rocks or wherever. You get the idea.

[@giantdwarfulf]

Actually my shipping company got the great idea of building new tankers with accommodations forward. Worst shit you can imagine. Not only because of stability but also because the engine is still aft, when the weather is bad nobody on board is sleeping because the anchors are super loud, the whole safety concept is stupid with the free fall boat being aft. Also they got a dual fuel system (lpg and regular fuel) which is super stressful to maintain, especially for the pump man who constantly has to make used up tanks gas free and cool them down again. Ive heard of no one who like these new vessels

[@jawadad73]

props to the guy who did the graphics and took the time to have the latels above the cooking furnace gently swinging with the ships' roll...

[@Seiskid]

I always thought it was silly they stenciled this across the front of the ship, but now it makes sense. I loved how the ladles in the galley moved with the ship. Nice touch.

[@cyrilio]

Love these videos. Keep ‘em coming.

[@spiercephotography]

This is hilarious, and so interesting. I always wondered... but i figured it was a general no smoking thing. I never thought about safe zones!

[@IAQMas]

In Athens literally saw a smoking guy moving fuel pipes when fueling a ferry on a `dangerous` part of the deck.

[@Atsumari]

Its taken in literal no smoking is not just about cigs or items you can smoke; it literally means anything that can smoke or catch flame. Don't cause smoke, don't cause flame. As you explain reminder of the danger zone. After all as something on one of the railway safety cards I remember reading said "We are all in this together; literally." The same would go for a fuel tanker... You and everyone on board are all in danger. ALWAYS remember that and take precautions.

[@geofflayton3898]

I have also seen the international code flag B (red with a V cut opposite the mast) on the mast of a tanker at the fuel berth in our port. This means 'i am taking in or discharging or carrying dangerous goods". An officer on one of the tankers told me that all vessels are required to keep 200m away from a vessel flying this flag.

[@chrthiel]

There is no 200m rule. In fact most ports wouldn't be able to comply with it because of physical constraints.

[@SeekingTheLoveThatGodMeans7648]

What is the B for? Boom?

[@rustteze]

@@SeekingTheLoveThatGodMeans7648 Just the regular NATO phonetics... Bravo

[@13dg]

@@SeekingTheLoveThatGodMeans7648 well, the Bravo (B) Flag is red, which should be a bit easier to see. Then you also have the fact that the color red can be easily associated with danger. Of course that someone that should be concerned with such signal will not look to the flag and think "red is danger so keep away". Instead they will connect the flag to its meaning (Bravo) and understand what the sign means. So my reason why the chosen sign is Bravo instead of any other letter is a guess. I learned what are the signals and what they mean in maritime school, the "why" on the other hand, never heard being mentioned. but then again, the "require medical assistance" flag is the flag Whiskey so they might be into something 😂

[@DanielJohnson-ps4xv]

I can tell you from experience, the request for other vessels to maintain a distance is seldom respected.

[@erikaitsumi3852]

I built air tight aluminium housings for electronics to go on oil rigs

[@D1EHARDTOO]

Probably the only informational video that has jump-scared me. When talking about the switch, I wasn't expecting the following "boom" and promptly got quite the shock. (No pun intended)

[@sensualchocolate4928]

Love this channel, awesome video.

[@TOTALCAMARO]

Thank you for the information. I learned something new.

[@aggese]

I would assume that the crew use boots that are simular to ESD safe shoes used in electric manufacturing as those helps with bleading of any static charge in a safe manner

[@the_eni]

I work on a small (85m long)chemical tanker in Germany . We have to use tool that have an Ex certificate.

[@morganahoff2242]

5:56 "Instinsically safe." Ha ha, close enough!

[@stevenneiman1554]

It's kind of interesting hearing about this as someone who frequently works in ESD-controlled environments, because in some ways they're a much deeper but narrower set of restrictions. You probably won't find people smoking in a typical ESD-controlled area but it's not against ESD policy and there are similar things like soldering irons which have to be available, but the protections against sparks are much tighter. In an ESD area, everything is designed to be conductive and not generate static electricity, technicians have to wear conductive coats and straps on their shoes that make them viable paths to ground (though that's suspended around high voltage, since safety is more important than preventing damage to product), and there are even devices designed to fill the air with ions that can settle on and counteract anything that picks up a static charge.

[@jimelliott8931]

loved the other signs well done

[@ant7936]

We had one designated room for smokers, when we were in Port, transferring oil. At sea, we were allowed to smoke in accommodation.

[@thegoat3336]

I've always known that but I still don't trust it

[@justayoutuber1906]

"Danger Zone!" - Sterling Archer

so the 'danger zone' would 'take my breath away'? sounds kind of familiar...

[@graememceachren1118]

The zone we are entering will be one of danger.

[@YounesLayachi]

One of your best vids yet

[@darioinfini]

Damn. Brilliant video, brilliant topic, brilliant handling by the shipping industry. Well done all.

[@BIG-DIPPER-56]

Very Nice - Thanks ! ! ! 🙂😎👍

[@dimalranasinghe8152]

Thank you so much.

[@vienduongxinchao]

Nice explaination

[@347Jimmy]

Crew members are also strictly forbidden from spontaneously combusting, though this is discouraged in most workplaces

[@TheNinjaRider]

Cool that you used a Stolt-Nielsen tanker as an example😊

[@mikmik9034]

c. 1980, Neighbour who was a Tanker Merchant Marine, said Even carrying a cigarette lighter was banned. ALL their tools were Bronze.

[@sullysullivan1282]

An inconsequential detail, but the pneumatic tool first shown at 4:11 is attached to a condensate drain - the air output is on the right of the regulator, level with the input. The little port on the bottom is for bleeding out pressure in an isolation situation, or excess of air tool oil (or moisture, assuming an air drying system is not present.) A few years ago, our plant air dryer went down for about a week, and all week I was constantly going around playing with these little drains (from a handful of different manufacturers that all had different ways of opening them...that was fun) to get the moisture out. That's when I learned what those things were for. You _could_ attach something there, but they're not designed for that and would be a little cumbersome - an addition to putting undue strain on part of the equipment not made for it.

[@michaeldebidart]

That “No Heavy Petting” sign has that “I’m gonna flip the bird in the class picture, no one will notice” energy

[@kaihorstmann2783]

„No Smoking“ is just the name of the shipping line. Like the retail chain „Sale“.

[@offichannelnurnberg5894]

Sale was never that popular in France, oh I can't imagine why🤔😁

[@913WildCat]

What about exposed metal? In some ships there are brass fittings to prevent sparks. Does this carry over to heavy equipment on deck, as well?

[@stephencarey5074]

Actually, you cannot light gas or petroleum products with a cigarette (unless you're in a Charles Bronson movie). However, the match that lights your cigarette can, as can dropping it on a rag which causes the rag to smoulder. The reason is that the ash on a cigarette end acts as a flash arrestor. Our ships had NO SMOKING and underneath that NO NAKED LIGHTS, which probably leads onto heavy petting... Good video by the way.

[@synergy021]

You said the word smoking so many times that even though I don't even smoke, I think I need a smoke now.

[@gert-jantwaalfhoven9755]

Depends a bit on the cargo, but the hazardous zone barrier is usually three meters after the forward accommodation bulkhead

[@Unimog1600]

One issue, that does come to my mind right now, is rust removal. Ships tend to constantly corrode due to a lot of steel present and the salty air on sea. There the rust usually has to be removed frequently, every few days especially when on sea, to not let it get out of hand. Even if the tools are air-driven, they still produce sparks when removing the rust and touching bare metall. How is this kind of work performed on ships with flammable or explosive cargo?

[@SeekingTheLoveThatGodMeans7648]

What kind of metal on what, would be my first question. Brass on iron or steel might not be spark prone.

[@taiyoqun]

Or beryllium tools maybe. They don't spark either, and are non magnetic

[@rustteze]

No such work to be carried out in ports when the risk is maximum, at sea however with a wind of usually 20 kts and all tank fully secured, purged of oxygen.. And flame arrestors on venting... Such sparks don't mean much

[@Unimog1600]

@@SeekingTheLoveThatGodMeans7648 I guess it could be enough to create sparks, if loose metall/rust parts are scrape over the still solid parts by the tool. Independent of the material of the tool itself. But I don't have experience with that.

[@Unimog1600]

@@rustteze I would guess the same. But I'm curious whether there are actually regulations or guidelines that take this in account. It seems to me that a lot is regulated quite strictly in the nautical business, so I guess that there might be one for this too.

[@andre-jm8jn]

Fantastic video, very well explained. As a Yacht Surveyor I compliment you for your work! PA YACHTING

[@enginesimul]

A really awesome video. I would like to ask how do ships discharge static electricity

[@miscellaneous.7127]

Just finished my Basic Tanker Familiarisation course and then this pops up!

[@nirfz]

There are antistatic safety shoes too. Have them at work to reduce damages for sensitive electronics due to static charges. They work great even with normal socks. And that means you don't need to touch grounded metal things to uncharge yourself if the floor is grounded. (which would be the case with ships i guess)

[@johnmacdonald1878]

Once upon a time long ago I worked on tankers. Smoking regulations were strictly enforced. You got one warning, the day you were hired. You broke the regs once you were done. I knew full well on a black oil ship you couldn’t ignite it even if you put a blow torch to it. I heard the regs just remained the same to be consistent with the rest of the fleet. The term smoko was frequently used to refer to any work break, there was a room for the crew isolated where smoking was allowed. Called the smoke room. Traditionally smoko was a smoking break. Smoking regulations had two levels. At sea, with no cargo operations, more lenient In port. Or when cargo operations at sea, eg tank cleaning. Stricter much more limited. Most pumps were steam or electric from engine room power from turbo generator from steam plant. Most winches were steam. Most power operated valves were hydraulic. Today steam may not be so common. Hydraulic winches are available. There is a red line usually a bit behind the front of the accommodation smoking never allowed in front of line. At sea ports aft of this line could be opened and theoretically you could smoke aft of this line but to do so outside was frowned upon. Smoking in cabin was never allowed bridge was forward of the red line so never allowed. Other public areas of accommodation smoking was ok at sea until restricted by cargoe operations then only in smoke room. Other companies may have had slightly different policies. But those were quite common for the industry at the time. There were special hot work certificates issued for the use of any type of tools which might include sparks ect. Very rare for on deck, ship would have to be completely clean and completely gas free and certifications issued regarding testing.

[@charliecharliewhiskey9403]

Even though most people haven't had training, I'm pretty sure they also understand that if they see a sign that says "no smoking", it actually means "don't do things that use fire". Like, gas stations have "no smoking" signs, but people also wouldn't have a BBQ in front of one, because they understand "the risk from smoking here is the flame, so flames are a bad idea". "No smoking" is a shorthand used all across society to mean "don't use hot stuff here", using the same concept of "eliminating the most likely source of ignition".

[@stefankuhn7830]

At 5:55 the "instinsically safe" type is somehow hilarious to me.

[@captainevenslower4400]

I have a wonderful vacation photo from Italy where a small tanker was refueling our ferry in the port and you can see a worker smoking directly beneath the huge sign.

[@aslavdogg]

My grandfather used to work on a large oil tanker on romania (MT Independența) that ended up sinking due to a greek ship that smacked into it, but thats not the point, the thing is he told me, a bulgarian oil tanker, had exploded due to a cigarette (it was on the stern helipad) But back on those days safetey were different ig, because of this NO SMOKING was allowed in any size of the ship, he told me they saw a guy smoking... On the next port he did not leave with the oil tanker

[@panc8ke324]

Good info, cheers. FYI @5:54 "instinsically safe".

[@kermit30au]

Iv been loading ships for years and we had intrinsically safe radios, control boxes and breathing apparatuses only to have a crew member smoking next to you.

[@timfagan816]

Cracks me up, that the lads at work are not allowed to smoke on the wharf while they're wrapping wires around the logs, for the ship to shore crane to deliver heaves of logs into the hold. But they can quickly jump aboard the ship for a quick smoke break and then go back to work! We always see the ships crew flick their cigarettes into the hold full of dry timber. 🤣🤣

[@Jack36255]

modern electronics are heavily designed with electrostatic discharge and emi in mind, the chances a modern low voltage dc device like a cell phone will "spark" is incredibly thin unless you stab the lithium battery

[@aarong7]

I wouldn’t have come to the comments if I hadn’t seen “no heavy petting” and lo and behold, everyone is here because of it

[@InventorZahran]

No safety; smoking first!

[@nixd0rf356]

great video

[@jonulmer]

Excellent safety standards for shipping those skinny birthday candles. Particularly the non-extinguishing kind.

[@rayoflight62]

The great advantage of tanker ships, in relation to electrostatics discharge, is the presence of salt and humidity everywhere. They discharge any static electricity buildup long before the potential can increase to the level it can generate a spark, or a dark corona discharge. Imagine a place with opposite conditions, as an Artic station, with -25 °C during the day, with almost 0% relative humidity; a single walking step on a plastic floor donning rubber shoes generate a one-inch long spark. Smoking tobacco is at about 900 °C. Vaping is safer because the heating coil tend to be below 200 °C but, should the cotton wick dry up, the heating coil can get red hot at the same 900 °C of burning tobacco...

[@cratecruncher6687]

Seeing this I'm surprised I'm still here. In 1980 I was 16 pulling all-nighters painting engine rooms of these beasts while in port for fast money. We didn't know any of this stuff and the crews weren't around to tell us. We could have blown up half of Baytown.

[@jackripper9810]

Now the big question - is the offset and size of the NO SMOKING sign on the accomodation block normed? I could see that together with any front mast being used together by another to determine wether the tanker is on course for collision...

[@Fabius11k]

Nice video :)

[@baystated]

What kind of precautions are there against naturally occurring electrical discharges. Not just lighting but aren't there phenomenons like st. elmo's fire that are zappy?

[@ericparrish1515]

Glad to see someone made the sign bigger so i know to hide it

[@runrabbitrunracing]

Intrinsically safe only applies to low power devices. Motors, pumps and other electronics will be protected by other protection methods of which there are many. Flame proof enclosures, encapsulation, over pressure, increased safety etc etc

[@ThePheenixKing.]

Grear video! I just happened to spot a spelling error roughly at min 6, where the writing scrolls across the bridge wall, intrinsicall safe tools was misspelled.

[@stanislavkostarnov2157]

as someone who occasionally had unprotected micro-electronics around the house, I want to say that anti-static paranoia is quite something, a person/body generates electricity in surprising places and ways!

[@outlawdingo3020]

Having worked in a port (we go into the hatches of the boats) all if not most ships will have no smoking signs, and we can’t smoke on the warfs unless we go to designated areas by the crib huts or in the hatches of the boat themselves (security cameras and bosses ect can’t see us). talking about all ships in general and it was a mining port with general cargo capabilities like your average port

[@7grims]

Is there a channel like this, but for airplanes?? I started watching these videos casually, and got addicted to all the interesting facts presented. Now I thirst for something similar for planes (and or other topics).

[@ccityplanner1217]

Is it that you can smoke, but only on the quarterdeck, not in the part of the vessel where the oil is kept (and the sign is visible)?