(www.MaritimeCyprus.com) At sea, fire isn’t just an emergency—it’s a battle for survival on a high-stakes stage where there is nowhere to run and everything to burn. As the global shift toward electric mobility transforms our cargo into high-energy puzzles, the Car Carriers of the maritime world face a complex new chemistry of risk.

The maritime industry has always been defined by its ability to adapt to the cargo it carries, but the rise of Electric Vehicles (EVs) presents a fire-safety challenge that doesn't play by the old rules. Whether it's the stubborn heat of an internal combustion engine fire or the violent "thermal runaway" of a lithium-ion battery, the margins for error on RoRo and PCTC vessels are slimming. These guidelines from the VCSF provide the essential scaffolding for vessel operators to build their own defenses, recognizing that while we cannot standardize every ship, we must standardize our readiness for the modern blaze.

The Vehicle Carrier Safety Forum (VCSF) recognises that responding to vehicle fires onboard PCCs, PCTCs, RoRo and Ro-Pax vessels is both dangerous and challenging. These guidelines have been designed to reduce the risk to the safety of crews, passengers, the environment, and the vessel.

Their sole aim is to assist vessel operators and crews to be better prepared to meet the challenges presented by vehicle fires. The guidelines do not provide detailed procedures to vessel operators on how to respond to fires on their vessels. There are too many variables in design, equipment, and trade for that to be realistic.

Instead, they provide a framework for vessel operators to use to inform their own more detailed procedures. The guidelines recognise that response is limited by vessel design, current crew training regimes and equipment available onboard. They do not include use of emerging technical solutions.

The scope of the guidelines includes fire response for internal combustion engine vehicles (ICE) and vehicles fully or partly powered by lithium ion batteries i.e. Battery Electric Vehicles & PHEVs & HEVs EV has been used throughout this document for ease.

EV should be taken to mean Battery Electric Vehicles & PHEVs & HEVs. There is considerable industry debate around the issue of Lithium Ion Battery (LiB) risks arising from carriage of electric vehicles (EV) or hybrid electric vehicles. Evidence from both shore fire response and recent shipboard incidents suggests that, whether or not fires originate from LiBs, should an early-stage fire involve a LiB in thermal runaway it could be more problematic to control and extinguish onboard than may be the case with an ICE fire. Experience of incidents has shown that f ires involving ICE vehicles can also be problematic to extinguish once established.

Click below to download the full Guide paper:

Source: ICS, IGPandI, TT Club

See also more resources and Guidance papers on Vehicle Carriers Fire Safety, HERE

See also more resources on the Safe Carriage of Battery Systems onboard, including Lithium-Ion Batteries, HERE