HydroPen™ tops the stack as container fire solution

One of the leading ship management companies in the world recently joined a major container shipowner, among the first to equip its fleet with the HydroPen™, the ground-breaking container firefighting solution exclusively available from Viking Life-Saving Equipment. Developed by Rosenby Engineering and distributed worldwide by Viking, HydroPen is a unique drilling and spraying machine that allows deck crew to fight fires successfully high up in the stack.

After being attached to ship’s existing hoses, the HydroPen unit is raised to the doors of the burning container by a single crew member using a telescopic lift. Powered by the ship’s available pressurised water alone, the HydroPen drills through the container door before automatically switching to spray mode to extinguish the fire at source. The system is compatible with water, foam or C0₂, depending on the nature of the fire.

The latest order covers over 40 vessels with two systems for each – one to be positioned astern and the other towards the bow to enable rapid response. Although this is not the first contract to specify HydroPen – a solution which has attracted strong interest from regulators, classification societies and owners. It recently won the prestigious Safety at Sea Award in the Best Safety Product of the Year – firefighting category.

The technology has also undergone a series of in-service trials, where it has been found to be straightforward, efficient and flexible to use with minimal training, for elevated containers and – using the HydroLock accessory – for containers in cargo holds.

Feedback from these trials has consistently focused on the system’s ease of use: in fact, after a single training session given during installation, one HydroPen system under trial was even called into action to deal successfully with a real container fire.   

Viking Life-Saving Equipment continuously seeks to offer the very latest technologies to its maritime customers and in HydroPen believes it has brought a solution to market that will quickly become a ‘must-have’ to address a serious and widespread issue.