Shipping industry grapples with ways to cut cargo fires at sea

HMM

22/02/2023 24:01

LONDON, Feb 22 (Reuters) - Global shipping companies are
exploring ways to boost safety in transporting cargoes as risks
grow from fires erupting inside containers or in cars at sea,
officials said on Wednesday.
    Shipping transports around 90% of world trade onboard
different vessels including container and Ro-Ro ships with trade
routes getting busier.
    In a new initiative, leading carriers Evergreen Line of
Taiwan, South Korea's HMM, Denmark's Maersk, Germany's Offen
Group, Singapore's ONE (Ocean Network Express), Hong Kong's
Seaspan as well as British ship certifier Lloyd's Register said
they are looking into feasibility studies to understand how
cargo is loaded and also monitored at sea, as well as finding
solutions to detect fire onboard ships and speed up ways to stop
it spreading.
    "The priority for the first challenge area is to provide
earliest indication of a fire incident, thus allowing the
appropriate onboard responses to prevent the occurrence of large
fires and loss," Rich McLoughlin, programme director for the
cargo fire and loss innovation initiative, told Reuters.
    "The initiative seeks to provide proof-points that emerging
tech may be used to improve response times over the existing
regulatory requirements, leading to enhanced vessel safety."    
    In its 2022 safety and shipping review, analysis by major
insurer Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty showed there had
been over 70 reported fires on board container ships alone in
the past five years, with growing risks faced by car carriers
transporting electric vehicles using batteries.    
    "The main root cause for cargo fires on container ships is
the integrity of dangerous goods throughout the supply chain.
Therefore it is a problem that can only be improved through
industry wide solutions," Maersk's Aslak Ross said separately in
a statement. 
 (Reporting by Jonathan Saul
Editing by Mark Potter
)
 ((jonathan.saul@thomsonreuters.com; + 44 207 542 4357 ; Reuters
Messaging: jonathan.saul.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))