https://www.reuters.com/business/container-ship-carrying-vol…
Electric vehicles reportedly involved.
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Electric vehicles reportedly involved.
That should raise insurance rates.
DB2
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Electric vehicles reportedly involved.
www.reuters.com/world/europe/fire-dies-down-ship-carrying-lu…
A fire which swept through a cargo ship carrying thousands of luxury cars and adrift off the coast of Portugal’s Azores islands has lost its intensity, probably because there is little left to burn, a port official said…
Cabeças told Reuters over the weekend lithium-ion batteries in the electric vehicles were “keeping the fire alive”, adding that specialist equipment was required to extinguish it. It was not clear whether the batteries sparked the fire.
DB2
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Questions:
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If the ship stays afloat after all flames ebb, are there experts who can determine with certainty the original fire source? (After such prolonged intensity.)
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If ship does not stay afloat, how to answer the source question???
News reports / speculations seem to be targeting the lithium battery angle(s).
If the ship stays afloat after all flames ebb, are there experts who can determine with certainty the original fire source?
I am pretty sure the insurance company involved has experts to call on.
News reports/speculations seem to be targeting the lithium battery angle(s).
There are two questions:
- Did the fire start with the EV batteries?
- Did the batteries contribute to the blaze once it was underway?
The answer to the second question is almost certainly yes. As for the first question, check back with the insurance investigator.
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I am pretty sure the insurance company involved has experts to call on.
Insurance adjusters
https://www.insureon.com/insurance-glossary/insurance-adjust…
The Captain
If the ship stays afloat after all flames ebb, are there experts who can determine with certainty the original fire source?
—
I am pretty sure the insurance company involved has experts to call on.
www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/felicity-ace-fire-is-out-why-do…
Fighting a fire with water then means more heavy water sloshing around uncontrolled inside the hull, which can lead to instability if it collects in the wrong part of the ship. By Tuesday, fire crews on hand at the Felicity Ace were not spraying water into the hull but rather onto the outside of the hull to cool it enough so a fire was less likely to melt the steel and cause the ship to sink…
The cargo was self-insured, meaning VW would absorb the loss. That may seem like a lot to you or me, but VW sold nine million cars last year, so 4000 or so represents 0.04%. VW will survive.
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By Tuesday, fire crews on hand at the Felicity Ace were not spraying water into the hull but rather onto the outside of the hull to cool it enough so a fire was less likely to melt the steel and cause the ship to sink…
https://premium.goauto.com.au/ev-fires-become-hot-issue/
One possible solution would be to cover each EV with a special fire-proof blanket at the time an EV is being loaded and tied down to the car deck…Some car carriers and ferry operators have already begun equipping their vessels with these blankets.
The blankets are made from similar material to that used on space vehicles to protect them from the intense heat generated on re-entry into earth’s atmosphere…
These blankets not only starve the fire of oxygen but they prevent reignition of the battery. This solution would add serious cost to the loading and unloading of cars but it might prove to be the only solution at this point…
DB2
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Tuesday, fire crews on hand at the Felicity Ace were not spraying water into the hull but rather onto the outside of the hull to cool it enough so a fire was less likely to melt the steel and cause the ship to sink…
In Venezuela firefighters tried to extinguish an oil storage tank fire with water. The resulting explosion killed over 160 firefighters, first responders, police, and reporters who got too close. 1982.
Tragedia de Tacoa
https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tragedia_de_Tacoa
Proper response? Let burn while cooling the nearby tanks.
The Captain
By Tuesday, fire crews on hand at the Felicity Ace were not spraying water into the hull but rather onto the outside of the hull to cool it enough so a fire was less likely to melt the steel and cause the ship to sink…
We had a somewhat similar issue with our burning Chemical tanker long ago. The heat from the engine room fire burned off the fuel pipe to the big diesel engine at the bulkhead, diesel fuel continued to spray into the engine room feeding the fire. The hull by the engine room turned white hot. I’ll skip my experience of trying to keep from being sauteed while being hoisted onto the tanker to try to prevent the over enthusiastic Filipino crewmen from being crushed while trying to reach up and grab the 600 pound pump that I was trying to hoist onto deck.
Anymouse <fried boots anyone?>
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These blankets not only starve the fire of oxygen but they prevent reignition of the battery. This solution would add serious cost to the loading and unloading of cars but it might prove to be the only solution at this point…
DB2
OR?
Until the lithium battery technology dragon is tamed, stop all production of the beast until it is?
For the future, I can see insurance companies making blanket exclusionary statements, that if a single vehicle with a lithium battery is in a ship’s cargo, the entire policy is null and void.
Ship operators would be obliged to decline carrying any such offending vehicle.
It is the latest step by the shipping industry which has become acutely aware of the increasing danger of transporting EVs and other alternate fuel vessels. …
Last year, insurer Allianz warned generally to the shipping industry of the increased fire danger. Their report warned about the potential dangers that lithium-ion batteries citing four main hazards, including fire, explosion, toxic gases, and the potential for thermal runaway from the transport of these batteries.
Operators of car carriers and a range of safety-oriented companies are doing extensive research into the requirements to improve fire safety for the transport of battery-powered cars. EVs are widely believed to have contributed to the fire 11 months ago that destroyed the car carrier Felicity Ace while the vessel was in the middle of the Atlantic.
DB2
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Maybe that’s yet another thing that Tesla is doing better … for the most part, building their cars on the continent where they will eventually be delivered.
I wonder if these ship fires are somehow related to an Emden, Germany port handling issue?
Doesn’t appear to be the case. In a report last fall, Allianz Insurance noted that fires have now become the #2 type of incident (after running aground).
" Among the specific incidents, they highlight the February 2022 fire and subsequent sinking of the ro-ro Felicity Ace , the June 2020 fire on the car carrier Höegh Xiamen , and the January 2020 fire on the containership Cosco Pacific . The common denominator in all the fires, as well as specific instances of container fires, was the presence of lithium-ion batteries."
The Cosco Pacific was en route between Malaysia and India. The Hoegh Xiamen was to go from Jacksonville to Baltimore, picking up used cars. The fire took over a week to extinguish.
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DB2
Enovix BrakeFlow™ Technology - Enovix
Maybe make firesafe battery technology a requirement?
I do have a position in the above company. Aside from that, take a peek at the content on that page. It is an excellent example of the solutions that are being brought to market to stymie lithium battery fires resulting from internal short circuits.
We will get there, eventually. We will get there sooner if market or regulatory pressure is applied more effectively.
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Autos are shipped without gas, for obvious reasons. I wonder why the reasons are as obvious with EVs?
For car shows (also RV, boat, etc.) the vehicles have to be drained of gas so no more than a pint or two is left in the tank. Also for obvious reasons. Doesn’t augur well for putting an EV in my garage with a wood shake roof, although I park gas vehicles in there always.
Lithium-ion batteries: fire risks and loss prevention measures in shipping
https://commercial.allianz.com/news-and-insights/reports/lithium-ion-batteries.html
Although shipping losses have more than halved over the past decade [1], fires on board vessels remain among the biggest safety issues for the maritime industry. AGCS analysis of over 240,000 marine insurance industry claims between January 1, 2017, and December 31, 2021, worth approximately €9.2bn in value, shows that these are the most expensive cause of loss, accounting for 18% of the value of all claims…
“AGCS has long warned about the potential dangers that lithium-ion batteries can pose for the shipping and wider logistics industries, whether they are being transported inside electric vehicles or as standalone cargo, if they are not handled, stored or transported correctly, with fire being a significant hazard,”* explains Captain Rahul Khanna, Global Head of Marine Risk Consulting, AGCS.
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“The ship had around 3,000 cars on board, according to Dutch broadcaster NOS, and the fire is suspected to have started in one of the 25 electric cars on board…”
The car carrier is still burning after four days. It also seems there were more than 25 EVs.
Fire on board the Fremantle Highway
www.msn.com/en-us/weather/topstories/q-a-fire-on-board-the-fremantle-highway/ar-AA1exCsx
"The Fremantle Highway car carrier had around 3,800 new cars on board, including 500 electric vehicles…
“A spokesperson for the International Maritime Organization (IMO) ha said that in light of the growing number of fires on cargo ships, it plans to bring in new safety standards for those transporting electric vehicles next year…The guidelines could include specifications on how fully a battery can be charged. New chemicals for extinguishing fires, special fire blankets, battery-penetrating jet extinguishers and bigger gaps between electric vehicles could become mandatory.”
DB2
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