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Fire-fighting equipmentLesson 3 of 7

Inspection, servicing and hydrostatic testing of extinguishers

You will be able to run or check an extinguisher service against A.951(23), count spare charges correctly and recognise a unit that must be taken out of service.

16 minutes · For signed-up learners, free · Rules checked 20 October 2026

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On 6 June 2022 a second officer on the tanker Seacross, alongside in Greece, was killed by a fire extinguisher. He was helping to dispose of condemned 9 litre cartridge-operated foam units. When one cap would not unscrew, he pressed the lever to empty it. The corroded base split at its weld seam and the body struck him in the chest. The extinguisher was 17 years old. The Bahamas Maritime Authority found that it and seven other badly corroded units had been passed at their annual service by a shore contractor only two weeks before the ship’s own officers condemned them.9 The same report records a 2021 fatality on an offshore unit with a corroded, condemned dry powder extinguisher.9 The UK MCA warns that fatalities “have previously occurred” when corroded extinguisher bases failed in use.8

An extinguisher is a pressure vessel that sits for years in salt air and vibration, then has to work at once. Servicing confirms that it will discharge, and that it will not fail as a pressure vessel. This lesson follows the cycle of resolution A.951(23) and what flags add to it.

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The rest of this lesson, the interactive Annual extinguisher round: accommodation and engine room and the quiz are open to signed-up learners. It's free, takes a minute, and opens every lesson in all 14 courses.

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In this lesson

  • Try it: Annual extinguisher round: accommodation and engine room
  • In plain words
  • In detail
  • What the rules say
  • Flag and class notes
  • Key numbers
  • What inspectors find
  • Work it out: a calculator
  • Questions people ask
  • Quiz: 6 questions

Sources

  1. 1 IMO Resolution A.951(23), Improved guidelines for marine portable fire extinguishers, adopted 5 December 2003, annex paragraphs 4.2, 8.1, 9.1 to 9.4 and table 9.1.3. https://wwwcdn.imo.org/localresources/en/KnowledgeCentre/IndexofIMOResolutions/AssemblyDocuments/A.951(23).pdf
  2. 2 IMO Resolution MSC.99(73), revised SOLAS chapter II-2, adopted 5 December 2000, regulations II-2/10.3.2.3, 10.3.3 and 14.2.1.2. https://wwwcdn.imo.org/localresources/en/KnowledgeCentre/IndexofIMOResolutions/MSCResolutions/MSC.99(73).pdf
  3. 3 IMO Resolution MSC.98(73), International Code for Fire Safety Systems (FSS Code), chapter 4, paragraph 3.1.2. https://wwwcdn.imo.org/localresources/en/KnowledgeCentre/IndexofIMOResolutions/MSCResolutions/MSC.98(73).pdf
  4. 4 IMO MSC.1/Circ.1432, Revised guidelines for the maintenance and inspection of fire protection systems and appliances, 31 May 2012, paragraphs 5.9, 7.12, 9.6 and 10.5 (copy annexed to Cayman Islands Shipping Notice 01/2014 Rev 2). https://www.cishipping.com/system/files/notices/documents/CISN%202014_01%20Rev%202%20with%20Annex.pdf
  5. 5 Liberia Maritime Authority, Marine Notice FIR-001 Rev. 02/26, Fire-protection systems and appliances, sections 6.1 to 6.8 (6.4.4 on partially emptied extinguishers). https://www.liscr.com/sites/default/files/online_library/FIR-001.pdf
  6. 6 Republic of the Marshall Islands Maritime Administrator, Marine Notice 2-011-14 Rev. Aug/2025, section 8 (8.2, 8.4). https://www.register-iri.com/wp-content/uploads/MN-2-011-14.pdf
  7. 7 Cyprus Shipping Deputy Ministry, Circular No. 41/2021, paragraph 3.1 and section 6 (annexed to IRClass Technical Circular 008/2022). https://www.irclass.org/media/5913/technical-circular-no008.pdf
  8. 8 UK Maritime and Coastguard Agency, MGN 276 (M+F) Amendment 1, Fire protection: maintenance of portable fire extinguishers, 2023, paragraphs 1.1 and 1.4 to 1.8 and table 1. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/mgn-276-mf-amendment-1-fire-protection-maintenance-of-portable-fire-extinguishers/mgn-276-mf-amendment-1-fire-protection-maintenance-of-portable-fire-extinguishers
  9. 9 Bahamas Maritime Authority, Report of the marine safety investigation into the failure of a condemned fire extinguisher during decommissioning resulting in the loss of a life on 06 June 2022 (M/T Seacross), issued 27 June 2023, sections 1 to 4. https://www.bahamasmaritime.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/BMA-MSI-Final-Report-Seacross-Fire-extinguisher-failure-fatality.pdf
  10. 10 Tokyo MOU, Report of the 2023 Concentrated Inspection Campaign (CIC) on Fire Safety, table 3. https://www.tokyo-mou.org/wp/wp-content/uploads/CIC-ON-FIRE-SAFETY-2023-Report-public.pdf

Free awareness training. Al Safwan Marine is not an approved training provider, so no certificate is given, and these courses are not a qualification. They don't replace STCW training, manufacturer training or the certification technicians need for this work. The manufacturer's manual and your flag's rules always come first.

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