A just-published Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty
(AGCS) report has highlighted the main hazards and causes of fire if
lithium-ion batteries in electric vehicles or cargo are not stored, handled or
transported correctly.
The report comes after a number of incidents involving
battery fires onboard.
AGCS said that, given the difficulties involved in
extinguishing battery fires at sea, companies’ primary focus had to be on loss
prevention.
Adequate training for staff and crew, access to
appropriate firefighting equipment, improvements in early detection systems and
developing hazard control and emergency plans are some of the practices that
could reduce the risk of serious damage.
AGCS analysis showed that /explosion was the
third-highest cause of shipping losses over the past decade, and the most
expensive cause of marine insurance claims over the past five years.
“Shipping losses
may have more than halved over the past decade, but fires on board vessels
remain among the biggest safety issues for the industry. The potential dangers
that the transportation of lithium-ion batteries pose if they are not stored or
handled correctly only add to these concerns, and we have already seen a number
of incidents,” said Captain Rahul Khanna, Global Head of Marine Risk Consulting
at AGCS. He added that “companies should do all that they possibly can to
implement, develop and follow robust loss prevention measures, given the
growing popularity of electric vehicles means many more vehicles with
lithium-ion batteries will be transported by sea in future.”
The most common causes of these hazards were substandard
manufacturing of battery /devices; over-charging of the battery cells;
over-temperature by short circuiting, and damaged battery cells or devices,
which, among other causes, could result from poor packing and handling or cargo
shift in rough seas if not adequately secured.
Recent incidents in which a battery fire was cited as a
possible cause or contributing factor include the March 2022 fire and
subsequent sinking of Britannia-entered ro-ro carrier Felicity Ace (IMO 9293911) (IMN, March 2nd, March 21st and
subsequently)
In the same month, the US Coast Guard issued a safety
alert about the risk posed by Li-ion batteries following two separate container
fires. In June 2020 a fire on the Gard-entered car carrier Höegh Xiamen (IMO 9431848) in Florida was attributed to a failure
to properly disconnect and secure vehicle batteries (IMN June 8th 2020 and
subsequent days).
In January 2020, a fire on the Steamship Mutual-entered container
ship Cosco Pacific (IMO 9355551) was
attributed to the combustion of a Li-ion battery cargo which was not properly
declared (IMN, January 8th and 9th, 2020).
AGCS analysis of more than 240,000 marine insurance
industry claims over the past five years (with a value of €9.2bn), showed that
/explosion (from all causes) was the most expensive cause of loss,
accounting for 18% of the value of all claims.
AGCS noted that Ro-ro and car carriers could be more
exposed to fire and stability issues than other vessels. To facilitate carriage
of automobiles the internal spaces are not divided into separate sections, as
they are on other cargo ships. The lack of internal bulkheads could have an
adverse impact on fire safety and a small fire on one vehicle or battery could
grow out of control very quickly, AGCS said.
In addition, vehicles were not easily accessible once
loading had been completed. Finally, the large volume of air inside the open
cargo decks provided a ready supply of oxygen in case of fire.
