In recent years, multiple fire incidents on roll-on/roll-off (Ro-Ro) transport ships caused by thermal runaway of electric vehicle (EV) batteries have severely impacted waterway traffic safety, posing significant risks to the vessels, crew, and cargo. These incidents have become a major focus of industry concern. To enhance the safety standards for transporting new energy vehicles (NEVs) by ships and support the shift toward proactive prevention in maritime safety, the China Classification Society (CCS) collaborated with the State Key Laboratory of Fire Safety at the University of Science and Technology of China to conduct experimental research on NEV fires in a Ro-Ro ship environment.
The experiments were conducted in three phases. First, tests were performed on a calorimetry platform to measure the heat release rates of lithium iron phosphate (LFP) and nickel-manganese-cobalt (NMC) battery-powered EVs. Subsequently, a semi-enclosed environment simulating a Ro-Ro ship’s vehicle hold was used to conduct full-scale fire experiments on NMC battery-powered EVs. The work was carried out under the guidance of CCS’s Department of Science, Technology, and Information, as well as the Digital Transformation Implementation Office, with the Technical Research and Development Center leading the execution. The Shanghai Rules and Research Institute and the Wuhan Rules and Research Institute jointly participated in designing the experimental plan.
Given that fire safety for NEVs transported on Ro-Ro ships is a shared priority for national authorities and the industry, the third experiment invited representatives from multiple organizations to observe on-site. These included the Maritime Safety Administration of the Ministry of Transport, COSCO Shipping Specialized Carriers Co., Ltd., Anji Logistics, Bohai Ferry Co., Ltd., Guangzhou Shipyard International Co., Ltd., Shanghai Ship Design and Research Institute, Shenzhen BYD Battery Co., Ltd., and the Tianjin Fire Research Institute of the Ministry of Emergency Management.
Through these three experiments, CCS observed the complete combustion process of NEV battery thermal runaway, collected critical fire data, and provided essential foundational research and technical support for improving the safety of NEV transportation on Ro-Ro ships. This marks a solid step forward in enhancing the safety standards for NEV transport by sea.
