Managing the risks of carrying electric vehicles by sea
LAST month, the roll on, roll off (ro-ro) car carrier Fremantle Highway caught fire while off the Dutch coast on passage to Egypt. One of the 22 crew died and seven others jumped into the sea before being rescued. The ship continued to burn for several days, and fires inside the car decks proved very difficult to extinguish. It had a cargo of nearly 4,000 cars on board, of which almost 500 were electric vehicles (EVs).
The Netherlands coast guard has made it clear that it is too early to be sure of the cause of the fire, and we must wait for the outcome of the investigations currently under way.
Nevertheless, the incident has added to concerns about the safety of lithium-ion batteries (li-ion) in general, but particularly in EVs.
Major insurer Allianz points to two past incidents. A fire on board car carrier Felicity Ace beginning in February 2022 led to the vessel sinking in the Atlantic Ocean, along with its cargo of 4,000 vehicles. Li-ion batteries were cited as a factor in keeping the fire ablaze.
In the second incident, the Hoegh Xiamen caught fire in June 2020 in Jacksonville, Florida, resulting in the total loss of the vessel and its cargo of 2,420 used vehicles. An improperly disconnected battery in a used vehicle led to the fire, according to the official investigation.
As the Fremantle Highway was still ablaze, Allianz’s global head of marine risk consulting, Captain Rahul Khanna, provided a prepared Q&A on the topic.
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Khanna addressed how significantly li-ion batteries are impacting safety on cargo ships, saying: “Li-ion batteries can be carried on board ships either as cargo themselves or as part of the equipment for the EVs they provide power for. Many of these batteries are safely transported every day, but fire risks are present in both scenarios, especially if the batteries are used or are defective, damaged or improperly stored, packaged, handled or labelled.
He added: “The main hazards are fire, explosion, and ‘thermal runaway’, a rapid self-heating fire that can cause an explosion. They can also produce irritating, corrosive or poisonous gases that cause an explosion in a confined space. The main causes of li-ion fires are sub-standard manufacturing or damaged battery cells or devices, over-charging and short-circuiting.”
He also said that li-ion batteries are an important source of energy, and that they do not necessarily burn more frequently than other goods. “It is only when they ignite that they are more difficult to extinguish, as they can burn more ferociously and are capable of spontaneously reigniting hours or even days after they have been put out,” he noted.
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“Most ships lack the suitable fire protection, firefighting capabilities, and detection systems to tackle such fires at sea, which has been made more difficult by the dramatic increase in ship size – container-carrying capacity has doubled in the last 20 years. We have seen many fires where malfunctioning or damaged batteries have been attributed as a contributing factor in recent years,” he said.
Khanna believes li-ion fire risks will likely ease over time as manufacturers, carriers and regulators address the current challenges. In the meantime, attention must be focused on pre-emptive measures to help mitigate the peril.
He pointed out that the state of charge of li-ion batteries is an important consideration in their safe transportation, and should be around 30 per cent to 50 per cent.
“More towards 30 than 50,” he advised, adding: “Both shipping lines and shippers should ensure this is the case. Shippers should also request proper certification like the test summary from the manufacturers before transporting them, as defective manufacturing is one of the leading causes of fires in such batteries.”
That counsel of perfection may be feasible with a cargo of brand-new vehicles straight out of the factory. It could be a different case when second-hand cars are being transported, and completely different again with an overnight ferry packed with passengers’ own EVs.
Khanna said: “Other measures to consider include ensuring staff/crew receive adequate training and access to appropriate firefighting equipment, improving early detection systems and developing hazard control and emergency plans.”
Whether the situation will get worse before it gets better is a moot question. At a recent webinar organised by training provider Stream Marine Group (SMT) in conjunction with Ship Management International, Tim Springett, policy director of the UK Chamber of Shipping, told delegates that corners of the industry are becoming increasingly concerned over the dangerous fire risks of li-ion batteries as the proportion of vehicles powered by them and being carried on ro-ro ferries increases.
“As the vehicles begin to age and the batteries deteriorate, the risk of dangerous fires steadily increases,” he explained.
Cor Meedendorp, director of FIFI4Marine, a company specialising in fighting lithium fires on board ships, said that the Fremantle Highway fire could have been prevented. In a report on Dutch news website NL Times, he argued that major investments are needed to make cargo ships fireproof.
He has a rather sceptical attitude towards shipping companies, observing: “If you’re a shipping company and you have 50 or 100 ships, and you have to invest two to three million euros (S$3 million to S$4.4 million) per ship to install another extinguishing system, it’s often cheaper to keep the insurance premium a little higher; and to ‘just’ put up with one of your ships burning down once every 10 years.”
Meedendorp’s company, based in Zwaag, the Netherlands, began developing an automatic extinguishing system seven years ago. “The system reacts immediately after gas and temperature are detected. The fire is extinguished with a biological foam before it can develop. There is no contamination or corrosion, it is per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances-free, and no toxic fumes are released. You intervene before the fire reaches uncontrollable proportions.”
He said FIFI4Marine has now equipped about 20 ocean-going vessels and luxury yachts with its firefighting systems. Impressively, that total includes nine owned by the Italian ro-ro specialist Grimaldi, with two more to follow.
Standardised training and regulations should also come into force sooner rather than later to reduce the significant safety risks that electric-car batteries pose to vessels and crews, indicated the speakers’ panel at the SMT webinar.
SMT’s Tony in’t Hout from Stream Marine Technical said: “The regulations are not really robust enough yet. Even if you have 85 firefighters onboard, similar to a standard cruise ship, they can respond to the fire very quickly, but the challenge lies in dealing with a battery fire – they are very hard to put out. We do not have enough training in fire safety with any of the alternative fuels that are coming into the industry.”
There is great concern among professional mariners about the danger of li-ion batteries. Many would like to see their carriage banned. That is not going to happen, but the industry needs to invest significantly in appropriate fixed firefighting systems and relevant training. Furthermore, regulatory changes will have to ensure that happens. This is a largely unforeseen consequence of decarbonisation.
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