British maritime safety specialist Survitec has recommended that current supplies of medical oxygen onboard ships are increased in the event of crews and passengers becoming ill with Covid-19.
While IMDG Code and MFAG guidelines require operators to carry 44 litres of medical oxygen at 200 bar as minimum, Jan-Oskar Lid, Global Technical Sales Manager – Fire, Rescue & Safety, Survitec, said the current minimum will not be enough in the event of a new outbreak.
“Most vessels will carry one 40 litre cylinder and two smaller two litre cylinders. A 40 litre cylinder operating at 200 bar with a flowrate of max 25 litres per minute will last for about 5.3 hours, but this is unlikely to be enough to treat more than one Covid-19 patient if a medical evacuation is not possible or cylinders cannot be quickly replaced,” he said.
A healthy adult requires about seven litres of oxygen per minute, but Covid-19 can deplete this to dangerous levels.
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