An Observer file photo of the damaged Star Princess cruise ship.

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) - A combustible plastic on the balconies of a Princess cruise ship may have played a major role in the quick spread of the March fire aboard the vessel that killed an American man and injured 13 passengers, a British marine agency said Thursday.

A type of widely used plastic called polycarbonate found in the ship's balconies is highly combustible, the Marine Accident Investigation Branch said in a report in connection with the fire, which broke out on the Bermudan-registered cruise ship while it sailed from Grand Cayman to Montego Bay, Jamaica, on March 23.

However, the cause of the fire has not been determined, said the agency, which investigates accidents on British ships.
Investigators from the British agency reported that the fire spread rapidly along the balconies, and within 10 minutes had spread to the upper decks. The heat of the fire shattered the glass in the ship's stateroom balcony doors but the blaze was contained by a fire-smothering system fitted in the staterooms, the report said.

The agency recommended stepped up vigilance by crews, including lookouts and additional fire patrols.
Stephen Meyer, the British agency's chief inspector for marine accidents, said fires such as the one on the Star Princess were "extremely rare" and he believed the cruise industry had identified measures to prevent similar accidents.

Princess Cruises, which operates the Star Princess, said they are implementing the British agency's recommendations.
The company said it has put into place a 24-hour fire watch of balconies, will remove combustible materials from balconies, and introduce fire detection and suppression systems.

The International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea, an agreement governing ships at sea, does not have rules on combustible materials used on balcony areas since they are not included in the cruise ships' fire zones, the British agency's report said.

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