In March, the Maersk Honam container vessel was sailing hundreds of miles south-east of Salalah, Oman, when it erupted into flames, recalled London's Ship Technology.
Nearly two months later, the ship was towed into port at Dubai, embers still flickering in the hold. Of the 27 seafarers who had been on-board when the fire struck, 22 were able to abandon ship. The remaining five never returned.
This was the latest of many containership fires that have plagued the maritime industry. Other incidents have occurred aboard the MSC Daniela, CMA CGM Rossini and the Hanjin Green Earth.
In an era when ships are larger than they have ever been, seafarers are often ill-equipped to monitor and contain fires themselves, leaving the task to tugboats that can take days or weeks to arrive
Each failed attempt presents a sizeable environmental, financial and, most importantly, human cost.
A number of marine insurers, including the International Union of Marine Insurers (IUMI), Allianz, the Swedish Club and DNV GL have spoken out about the industry's failure to address containership fires. However, for a number of reasons, they face an uphill struggle.
The cause of the Maersk Honam fire is currently the subject of an ongoing investigation. Nevertheless, evidence from previous incidents points to hazardous cargo being misdeclared as a primary factor.
Introduced more than half a century ago, the International Maritime Dangerous Goods (IMDG) Code governs the carriage of materials deemed hazardous on cargo vessels. Based on 2016 figures, the International Cargo Handling Coordination Association estimates that 5.4 million containers are packed with dangerous goods (DG) every year.
'Once cargo is inside containers, it is difficult to know whether the contents should be classified as DG or not.'
In the wake of the Honam fire, Maersk Line selected the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) to lead a workshop to evaluate hazards on container ships, many of which ABS said are 'not fully addressed by the IMDG code'.
As a result of the workshop, DG cargo will no longer be stored near crew quarters or engine rooms on Maersk ships, while cargo classified as fire-resistant will always be placed above deck.
We are encouraged by the outcome of this workshop, which will lead to further safety improvements to be considered for the IMDG Code,' said Ole Graa Jakobsen, Maersk Line's head of fleet technology. 'With ABS and other leading international partners, we will now work to implement the recommendations we have identified.'
SeaNews Turkey
Nearly two months later, the ship was towed into port at Dubai, embers still flickering in the hold. Of the 27 seafarers who had been on-board when the fire struck, 22 were able to abandon ship. The remaining five never returned.
This was the latest of many containership fires that have plagued the maritime industry. Other incidents have occurred aboard the MSC Daniela, CMA CGM Rossini and the Hanjin Green Earth.
In an era when ships are larger than they have ever been, seafarers are often ill-equipped to monitor and contain fires themselves, leaving the task to tugboats that can take days or weeks to arrive
Each failed attempt presents a sizeable environmental, financial and, most importantly, human cost.
A number of marine insurers, including the International Union of Marine Insurers (IUMI), Allianz, the Swedish Club and DNV GL have spoken out about the industry's failure to address containership fires. However, for a number of reasons, they face an uphill struggle.
The cause of the Maersk Honam fire is currently the subject of an ongoing investigation. Nevertheless, evidence from previous incidents points to hazardous cargo being misdeclared as a primary factor.
Introduced more than half a century ago, the International Maritime Dangerous Goods (IMDG) Code governs the carriage of materials deemed hazardous on cargo vessels. Based on 2016 figures, the International Cargo Handling Coordination Association estimates that 5.4 million containers are packed with dangerous goods (DG) every year.
'Once cargo is inside containers, it is difficult to know whether the contents should be classified as DG or not.'
In the wake of the Honam fire, Maersk Line selected the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) to lead a workshop to evaluate hazards on container ships, many of which ABS said are 'not fully addressed by the IMDG code'.
As a result of the workshop, DG cargo will no longer be stored near crew quarters or engine rooms on Maersk ships, while cargo classified as fire-resistant will always be placed above deck.
We are encouraged by the outcome of this workshop, which will lead to further safety improvements to be considered for the IMDG Code,' said Ole Graa Jakobsen, Maersk Line's head of fleet technology. 'With ABS and other leading international partners, we will now work to implement the recommendations we have identified.'
SeaNews Turkey
