Next year, the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) is focusing its attention on how to prevent container ship fires. According to industry stakeholders, these fires result in the costliest marine insurance claims.
The Hamburg-headquartered International Union of Marine Insurance (IUMI) told Insurance Business that the IMO’s Ship Systems and Equipment Subcommittee (SSE10) is expected to start looking at solutions in March.
“It’s probably the only platform [the IMO] where you can achieve change but because there are so many stakeholders and so many actors [175 member states] involved it is a long process,” said Hendrike Kühl, the IUMI’s policy director.
Tom Hughes (pictured above), head of marine in Australia for global insurer AXA XL said shipping industry stakeholders need to find a way to solve the root cause of the container fire problem.
“What the industry truly needs is for shippers to take on more responsibility in dealing with the problem of cargo mis-declaration,” said Hughes. “This has been the major contributor to the increasing occurrence of fires on container ships in recent times.”
He said the industry must find ways of “stamping out” cost-based motivation for mis-declaring cargo.
However, Hughes also said it was “positive” that after extensive lobbying “we can now expect renewed efforts to influence change in the way these increasingly large vessels are designed.”
In the coming years, he said, container ships could be designed with more compartments to segregate cargoes and isolate fires that ignite while the vessel is out at sea.
“This partitioning approach may prevent the fire from spreading throughout the entire vessel, averting a total loss,” said Hughes. “Upgrading fire-fighting systems, including thermal systems to detect temperature breaches within a single container, or installing smoke detectors within containers themselves rather than the cargo hold, are just a few examples of the proposals likely to be put forward in the coming months.”
He said one current focus for AXA XL’s marine consultants is offering guidance for customers who import or export dangerous or hazardous cargo, “as well as goods that self-heat and spontaneously ignite.”
Hughes said a hot topic – no pun intended – for container shipping stakeholders is lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries. He said these batteries are responsible for “a large share of cargo fire incidents in recent years.”
Lithium-ion batteries power many devices, including mobile phones and electric vehicles (EVs).
“Our risk consultants are supporting our clients through the identification of risks, offering advice in preventative measures and giving recommendations for various stakeholders within the supply chain to enhance the safe carriage of high-risk goods,” said Hughes.
The IUMI also said the EV fires are a “growing concern” within the shipping community.
However, in an interview with IB, the IUMI was keen to dispel any notion that EV fires are more dangerous or frequent than combustion engine fires.
“The key point that we would say is that electric vehicle fires are not more dangerous than internal combustion engine vehicle fires,” said Kühl. “They are different because they need to be addressed differently.”
On the wider issue of container ship fires, there seems be broad agreement on their severity and the need to do something about it.
“It is universally accepted that many ships are not adequately equipped to effectively manage fires while at sea,” said Hughes. “Therefore, it is increasingly important that we shift our focus towards preventive actions to reduce this risk.”
He said the challenges include the cost of retrofitting older vessels with improved firefighting equipment or introducing early detection systems.
“However, the overarching challenge here is in regulating an incredibly large global industry effectively,” said Hughes. “It is often thought that the best-case scenario would be setting up consistent rules for misreporting hazardous cargo that apply to all shippers, coupled with penalties for those who make such misstatements.”
He said this would encourage responsibility throughout the industry, “enhancing safety and transparency in shipping practices.”
One way of approaching this goal, said Hughes, is using new technologies.
“It’s quite encouraging to see a growing number of innovative solutions being put forward to deal with fires on container ships and inside containers,” he said. “Several major container shipping companies have started using software to screen cargo details and identify suspicious bookings and some are even imposing fines and penalties for those who provide inaccurate information.”
However, he said, “complexity arises” from the lack of a global approach and instead the variety of requirements among shipping companies and different marine jurisdictions.
How do you see the fire risks on container ships? Should shippers take on more responsibility? Please tell us below.
