Eighteen (18) months ago, Hendrike Kühl (pictured above), described the fire risks on container ships as a “huge issue” and “on everybody’s mind.” However, the policy director of the Hamburg-headquartered International Union of Marine Insurance (IUMI) was hopeful that the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) was poised to bring in positive safety upgrades.
The IUMI represents the world’s insurers and reinsurers.
Insurance Business asked Kühl, what’s changed?
“Regarding progress at the IMO, we are actually quite pleased to see that the big shift toward fixed water monitors is very likely to be accepted,” she said. “That is a major improvement.”
However, the IUMI was also looking to get heat detection monitors on individual containers as a requirement. Kühl said that’s going to take more meetings.
The fire risks themselves, she said, remain a huge concern for the marine industry, including insurers and brokers.
“The situation hasn’t changed much,” said the policy director. “If they happen, they have the potential to cause human tragedy, environmental disaster, and of course the loss of the vessel and the cargo.”
A container ship was on fire and drifting around the Red Sea as Kühl answered these questions.
Kühl said there is speculation that the fire may have been caused by dangerous cargoes.
“This goes to show how important it is to ensure that dangerous cargoes are declared properly and thus correctly stowed,” she said. “It also demonstrates the need to improve automated firefighting systems to give the crew the best possible chance of fighting the fire successfully and safely from a distance.”
The IUMI continues to push for improved fire detection.
“Currently, fire detection for containers stowed on deck does not exist,” Kühl said. “For boxes stowed below deck, only smoke detectors are required.”
She said relying on smoke detectors means there is often a delay between the fire starting and its smoke actually reaching a detector.
“For this reason we are keen to see the introduction of heat detection systems which will detect hotspots in an individual container and trigger an alarm – this will happen before a fire ignites and smoke is emitted,” said Kühl.
Members of the IMO’s Sub-Committee on Ship Systems and Equipment (SSE), she said, do support fixed firefighting systems for certain newbuild containerships.
“This is a crucial step forward which will allow the crews of these vessels to fight fires with much more powerful automated systems,” said Kühl. “Mobile water monitors will continue to be available to supplement the fixed monitors, but the addition of fixed installations – if approved by the relevant IMO committees - will be a major improvement.”
Another positive development is the increasing use of smart containers.
“Some container liners are already using smart containers, but mainly for tracking purposes,” she said. “In our view, it could be a game changer if it were possible to integrate them into the ship’s safety architecture, so that they can alert the crew to anomalies, such as temperature increases, within the container.”
Some industry stakeholders are also looking at other innovative solutions. For example, the Cargo Fire and Loss Innovation Initiative (CFLII).
“In a recent webinar they discussed new technologies such as e-noses and multi gas sensors,” said Kühl. “These could bring major safety benefits in the future.”
One major driver of fire risks aboard container ships, according to industry stakeholders, is their huge size. According to Allianz, container ships have double the capacity they did 20 years ago. The insurer’s reports show that compared to the late 1960s, these vessels have 1,500% more containers. The biggest container ships are about 400 metres long.
Are you a marine industry stakeholder? What safety improvements would you like to see on container ships? Please tell us below.
