THE International Union of Marine Insurance (IUMI) is urging the industry to strengthen fire protection in the cargo area of container vessels; amend the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) by including active and/or passive fire protection onboard new containerships; and consider the need to upgrade fire fighting equipment on existing box ships.
'This year has already seen an alarming number of containership fires,' IUMI said in a news release. IUMI highlighted fires on containerships such as the Yantian Express, APL Vancouver, Grande America, ER Kobe and KMTC Hong Kong.
London-based Drewry Shipping Consultants listed in its Container Insight Weekly eight significant fires between January 3 and August 9 on container and container/roll-on, roll-off ships, reported American Shipper.
At an October 17-18 conference in Arendal, Norway, organised by the marine insurer and P&I Club Gard, IUMI said the need to bolster fire fighting capabilities onboard box ships was urgent.
'We need to see more headway to improve the safety of the crew, the environment, the cargo and the ships themselves,' said IUMI's policy forum chairwoman Helle Hammer.
'Mis- and non-declaration of cargo has serious safety implications and is the root cause behind these tragic incidents,' Ms Hammer said. 'Better prevention measures must also address the concerning rise in cargo misdeclaration. We are encouraged to see larger carriers already beginning to crack down on this problem.'
Said Ms Hammer: 'There is agreement among experts that the current means of controlling a fire in the cargo hold are of little effect. The safety objectives set out in SOLAS do not seem to be met, and in light of the various recent casualties the time for action is now.'
In partnership with Germany, IUMI is 'calling for additional support from flag administrations and other stakeholders to bring this issue to IMO's (International Maritime Organization) agenda in 2020.'
A 2017 position paper by IUMI noted: 'In remote locations and on the open sea, it can often be hours or even days after a fire has broken out before external assistance arrives. As a rule, only seagoing tugs carry the necessary equipment for effective fire fighting. Until they arrive, the crew has to rely on its own resources and the fire can spread extensively.'
IUMI's paper, which included a proposal from the German Insurance Association, recommended 'fire fighting systems should be arranged to segregate the ship into fire compartments where the fire can be isolated to prevent it from spreading. Onboard systems could then cool the containers and allow them to burn out in a controlled manner.'
IUMI represents 40 national and marine market insurance and reinsurance associations.
WORLD SHIPPING
'This year has already seen an alarming number of containership fires,' IUMI said in a news release. IUMI highlighted fires on containerships such as the Yantian Express, APL Vancouver, Grande America, ER Kobe and KMTC Hong Kong.
London-based Drewry Shipping Consultants listed in its Container Insight Weekly eight significant fires between January 3 and August 9 on container and container/roll-on, roll-off ships, reported American Shipper.
At an October 17-18 conference in Arendal, Norway, organised by the marine insurer and P&I Club Gard, IUMI said the need to bolster fire fighting capabilities onboard box ships was urgent.
'We need to see more headway to improve the safety of the crew, the environment, the cargo and the ships themselves,' said IUMI's policy forum chairwoman Helle Hammer.
'Mis- and non-declaration of cargo has serious safety implications and is the root cause behind these tragic incidents,' Ms Hammer said. 'Better prevention measures must also address the concerning rise in cargo misdeclaration. We are encouraged to see larger carriers already beginning to crack down on this problem.'
Said Ms Hammer: 'There is agreement among experts that the current means of controlling a fire in the cargo hold are of little effect. The safety objectives set out in SOLAS do not seem to be met, and in light of the various recent casualties the time for action is now.'
In partnership with Germany, IUMI is 'calling for additional support from flag administrations and other stakeholders to bring this issue to IMO's (International Maritime Organization) agenda in 2020.'
A 2017 position paper by IUMI noted: 'In remote locations and on the open sea, it can often be hours or even days after a fire has broken out before external assistance arrives. As a rule, only seagoing tugs carry the necessary equipment for effective fire fighting. Until they arrive, the crew has to rely on its own resources and the fire can spread extensively.'
IUMI's paper, which included a proposal from the German Insurance Association, recommended 'fire fighting systems should be arranged to segregate the ship into fire compartments where the fire can be isolated to prevent it from spreading. Onboard systems could then cool the containers and allow them to burn out in a controlled manner.'
IUMI represents 40 national and marine market insurance and reinsurance associations.
WORLD SHIPPING