Maritime Technologies Forum Releases Guidance on EV Fire Risks
The Maritime Technologies Forum is launching a new report on September 30, which outlines a top-level framework for ship operators on how the risk of electronic Vehicle (EV) fires onboard pure car and truck carriers and ferries should best be mitigated.
Onboard EV fires have been occurring for many years, though it has not always been clear to what extent EV self-ignitions have been to blame. One of the first incidents was a contained fire in a single EV-powered car on board the MS Pearl of Scandinavia (IMO: 8701674) in November 2010, in transit between Oslo and Copenhagen. But a fire which broke out on December 31, 2018 on board the VC Sincerity Ace (IMO: 9519092) en route from Yokohama to Honolulu with 3500 Nissan cars onboard took ten days to burn out, and five crew were lost. Her sister ship VC Felicity Ace (IMO: 9293911), with 4000 Volkswagen cars on board, burned for a week before sinking off the Azores in February 2022. More recently, the VC Morning Midas (IMO: 9289910) caught fire and sank in the North Pacific in June, with 746 EVs out of a cargo of over 3000 vehicles on board.
When such incidents occur, there is frequently debate over whether EVs have initiated such fires, or whether EVs have contributed to the subsequent spread of fires and the difficulties of bringing them under control. The consensus appears to be that while EV over-heating and spontaneous combustion is rare, the characteristics of lithium batteries complicate and prolong the fire-fighting response.
Amongst a plethora of advice offered to mariners, the Maritime Technologies Forum’s new report summarizes a number of best practice ideas, among which are the following:
Early Detection: EVs need to be fitted with alarms to give early warning of battery over-heating, and wireless-connected to ship fire safety networks.
Prevention of Explosion: EV fires release heavier than air flammable gases, so on-board electrical equipment lively to be in fire-affected areas should be of a specification suppressing initiation of explosions.
Fire Protection and Prevention of Fire Spread: EV fires produce greater heat than conventional fires, requiring a re-evaluation of structural fire protection heat resistance standards in FTP 2010 that are currently based on conventional vehicle characteristics.
Manual Firefighting; portable manned firefighting equipment should be used in the early stages of a fire where this is possible, so as to avoid risks to ship stability caused by excess water accumulation.
Fixed Firefighting: the report considers the relative merits of carbon dioxide, high expansion foam and water-based fire-extinguishing systems, and makes observations.
Crew Safety During Firefighting: the report gives advice on crew safety during firefighting, particularly regarding loading schemes to facilitate access and the need for longer-duration breathing apparatus.
Safety Management Systems: the report recommends enhancements to crew fire response training, to cover particular dangers relating to EVs and fire drills to tackle EV fires.
The Maritime Technologies Forum report is to be launched during the London International Shipping Week, and is to be submitted for consideration by the IMO, with the aim of prompting improvements to mandatory regulations.