ClassNK issues PCTC safety notation
ClassNK has awarded ‘Additional Fire-Fighting measures for Vehicle Carrier’ (AFVC) notation to K Line’s 2003-built car carrier, Texas Highway. As the volume of electric vehicles (EV) shipped by sea accelerates, the risk of lithium-ion fires which do not respond to ships’ traditional fire-fighting equipment is rising exponentially. The issue is a growing concern for PCTC operators, marine insurers, and seafarers.
The classification society recently issued ‘Guidelines for the Safe Transportation of Electric Vehicles’, explaining the characteristics of EV fires and guidance on how seafarers should respond. The class society also set out five types of AFVC notations according to different safety measures.
The Texas Highway now meets the requirements for one of these notations, ‘FF’ (Fire Fighting), which recognises that the ship’s fire suppression manual includes essential information and considerations for extinguishing fires involving EVs. It also confirms that the necessary equipment for the suppression of such fires is available on board.
Ships’ traditional fire-fighting equipment risks making EV fires worse. When batteries fail, they go into ‘thermal runaway’, a process in which battery cell temperatures increase rapidly resulting in a self-sustaining reaction. The batteries then vent toxic gases including hydrogen fluoride, hydrogen chloride, and hydrogen cyanide, carbon monoxide, methane, and sulphur dioxide.
There have been a number of high-profile vehicle carrier casualties since 2020. They include the 6,400-CEU Felicity Ace which sank in the Atlantic Ocean on a voyage from Emden, Germany, to Rhode Island in March 2022. The 6,200-CEU Fremantle Highway suffered a fire that burnt for a week in July 2023 as the vessel drifted without power in the North Sea. The ship was eventually towed to Eemshaven in the Netherlands before being moved to Rotterdam.