NORFOLK, Va. — The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) announced the findings of its investigation of the 2022 Spirit of Norfolk fire on Tuesday.
According to the board, the fire was likely caused by the ignition of combustible materials stored near an exhaust pipe of the operating port generator.
The findings come more than a year after the fire destroyed the iconic ship on June 7, 2022. 108 people were on board when the fire broke out, but all passengers and crew got off the ship and no one was hurt.
It took firefighters four days to put out the fire and the vessel was declared a $5 million total loss.
The NTSB said investigators also found ineffective communications between the unified command and firefighting teams contributed to the severity of the fire.
Alongside the findings, the board recommended installing engine-room fire detection and fixed fire extinguishing systems in small passenger vessels operating before March 10, 1996, which are exempt from Coast Guard regulations requiring them.
“It is time for the U.S. Coast Guard to remove the exemption from the regulations,” NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy wrote in a news release.
“More than 100 of these exempted small passenger vessels are currently operating without fire detection or firefighting systems in their engine rooms while carrying hundreds of passengers—a completely unnecessary risk to passengers and crew. Vessels carrying a large number of people, no matter when they began operations, should be required to have fire detection and prevention systems so crews can take immediate action to protect and save lives.”
According to the NTSB, City Cruises, the company that operates the Spirit of Norfolk and other sightseeing vessels, has committed to a project to retrofit their vessels with fixed fire extinguishing and fire detection systems.