Thome Group has won the 2022 Outstanding Contribution to Safety @ Sea Award organised by the Singapore Maritime Ports Authority. The award was presented by Quah Ley Hoon, Chief Executive of Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore on the 31st of August in the Peony Grand Ballroom at the Sands Expo and Convention Centre in Singapore.

Thome was recognised for a series of safety programmes and initiatives that it has developed to ensure that the company is disciplined and focused in keeping its commitment to safety.

These included the creation of a safety department which focuses on monitoring the implementation of health, safety and quality policies, ensuring the company follows a risk-based approach which includes conducting risk analyses and implementing regular safety campaigns focussing on specific themes.

One of these campaigns is called “Partners in Safety” which is designed to set up stronger links between Thome’s seafarers and their onshore colleagues with regards to safety related matters. The aim is to encourage the two sides to work more closely together with information sharing and support in a blame free culture.

Thome has also initiated a safety coach programme where specialist safety coaches sail with Thome’s fully managed vessels to promote and spread their knowledge on safety requirements, systems, and procedures among the ship’s staff.

Accepting the award on behalf of Thome, Capt. Mayuresh Jayade, Marine and Safety Manager of Thome Group, said, “Thome Group places great importance on safety matters and has developed several initiatives and projects to ensure that the company is disciplined and focused in keeping its commitment to safety. We are very honoured that the MPA has recognised that with this prestigious award.”

Olav Nortun, CEO of Thome Group added, “I am pleased to say that by implementing these various safety initiatives we have seen a reduction in injuries and incidents from our fleet, so this award rewards the hard work of our staff both onshore and at sea.”
Source: Thome Group

ICHCA International, the global cargo handling association, launched the 2022 TT Club Innovation in Safety Award today inviting entrants to submit details of their innovations by 11 November 2022. The Award, which is open to an individual, team or company involved in cargo logistics, has seen the prestige associated with winning or being highly commended, grow year-on-year. Past winners have ranged from individual entrepreneurs and specialist suppliers to employee teams in major industry businesses. Entrants are required to show that a product, idea, solution, process, scheme or other innovation has resulted in a demonstrable improvement in safety.

Details of how to submit entries and of the judging criteria can be found here.

Both ICHCA and TT Club have a fundamental commitment to risk reduction throughout the entire freight supply chain. Promoting safety advice and good practices is paramount to the philosophy of the two organisations and the Award reflects this commitment. As such, the Award and the consequent profiling of the innovations put forward by its enthusiastic entrants, is central to the two organisations’ efforts to support continuous improvement in safety. They will continue to provide opportunities to showcase winners and other entrants, organising Safety Villages at industry forums and other live or virtual events. The range of the safety information and guidance documents these two organisations produce, from white papers to webinars and from advisories to checklists, can be found on their individual websites.

TT’s Risk Management Director Peregrine Storrs-Fox has been a supporter of the Award since its inception in 2016, “In TT’s role as a specialist provider of insurance products and risk management services to the supply chain industry, we have always emphasised the critical nature of loss prevention. Encouraging safety awareness and advising on effective risk mitigation is core to the Club’s business ethos,” he says.

“TT is therefore proud to have worked closely with ICHCA for a number of years, both in presenting this Award and urging all parties from the IMO and national governments to transport companies, intermediaries and cargo packers, storage facilities and handlers to adopt and constantly improve good practice systems and procedures. We look forward to celebrating the wealth of safety innovation that will once more be attracted by this Award.”

In past years, submissions to the Award programme have ranged in focus from bulk cargo handling to securing containers and their cargoes; from safety reporting and education to the correct handling of dangerous materials; from environmental monitoring to fire detection and suppression. The 2021 Award went to VIKING Life-Saving Equipment A/S for its HydroPen system designed to fight onboard container fires. HydroPen has recently secured a major contract to supply the entire Maersk fleet, gaining traction to deliver global ship safety.

Those highly commended in this latest Award included PSA International for its video analytics solution to prevent in-terminal collisions and Cargotec’s innovation to inspect containers from below, effectively and safely identifying any damage and ensuring they are free of any invasive pests.

Richard Steele, ICHCA’s CEO comments, “A massive benefit of the Award is that we make the innovative work carried out by the organisations that enter, available to others. Working together with our partner TT, we strive to achieve this through publishing a Digest of all the entries and helping the innovators to disseminate their knowledge through webinars and Safety Villages at industry exhibitions.”

“At ICHCA we believe that safety is the partner of efficiency, not its opposite. A well-run safety-conscious organisation is an efficient and sustainable organisation. Accidents cost lives, money and reputation. We challenge ourselves and our industry to move safely forward. We are proud of the innovation our industry has achieved and we wish to celebrate those achievements into the future.”

The Award ceremony will take place in February 2023 where the winners will be announced, those shortlisted will present their entries and innovation will be celebrated once more.
Sources: TT Club, ICHCA International

Given the difficulties involved in extinguishing battery fires at sea, companies’ primary focus should be on loss prevention, says marine insurer Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty in its latest risk bulletin. Measures include adequate training for the crew, appropriate firefighting equipment, better early detection systems and hazard control and emergency plans.

As a key component of electric vehicles (EVs) or electronic devices, the transport of highly inflammable lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries is increasingly impacting shipping safety as demonstrated by a number of fires on vessels such as roll-on roll-off (ro-ro) car carriers and container ships. Given the many difficulties involved in suppressing battery fires, particularly at sea, focusing on loss prevention measures is crucial, whether batteries are transported within EVs or as standalone cargo, says Allianz.

‘Shipping losses may have more than halved over the past decade, but fires on board vessels remain among the biggest safety issues for the industry,’ explains Captain Rahul Khanna, Global Head of Marine Risk Consulting at Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty (AGCS). ‘The potential dangers that the transportation of Li-ion batteries pose if they are not stored or handled correctly only add to these concerns, and we have already seen a number of incidents. Companies should do all that they possibly can to implement, develop and follow robust loss prevention measures, given the growing popularity of EVs means many more vehicles with lithium-ion batteries will be transported by sea in future.’

Four main battery hazards

The risk bulletin “Lithium-ion batteries: Fire risks and loss prevention measures in shipping” highlights four main hazards:

• fire (Li-ion batteries contain electrolyte, an ignitable liquid);
• explosion (resulting from the release of ignitable vapor/gases in a confined space);
• thermal runaway (a rapid self-heating fire that can cause an explosion); and
• the toxic gases that these hazards can produce.

The most common causes of these hazards are substandard manufacturing of battery cells/devices, over-charging of the battery cells, over-temperature by short circuiting, and damaged battery cells or devices, which, among other causes, can result from poor packing and handling or cargo shift in rough seas if not adequately secured.

Moreover, ‘they can also aggravate other causes of fire at sea and are difficult to extinguish as they have the potential to reignite days or even weeks later,’ says Khanna. ‘In most shipboard incidents a thermal runaway event can be a significant possibility unless immediate action is taken by the crew, such as suppressing a fire with copious amounts of water over a long period of time. However, this can be extremely challenging due to factors such as early detection being difficult, a shortage of crew members on board, and if the vessel’s firefighting capabilities are inadequate.’

Loss prevention measures on car carriers

The primary focus must therefore be on loss prevention and in the report, AGCS experts highlight a number of recommendations for companies to consider, focusing on two areas in particular: storage and in transit.

Among others, recommendations to mitigate the fire risk that can potentially result from Li-ion batteries during the transportation of EVs on car carriers and within freight containers include:

• ensuring staff are trained to follow correct packing and handling procedures and that seafarers have had Li-ion battery firefighting training;
• checking the battery’s state of charge (SOC) is at the optimal level for transportation where possible;
• ensuring that EVs with low ground clearance are labelled as this can present loading/discharging challenges; and
• checking all EVs are properly secured to prevent any shifting during transportation.

In transit, anything that can aid early detection is critical, including watchkeeping/fire rounds and utilising thermal scanners, gas detectors, heat/smoke detectors, and CCTV cameras.

Loss prevention measures for stored batteries

The report also highlights a number of measures that can help ensure safe storage of Li-ion batteries in warehouses, noting that large-format batteries, such as those used in EVs, ignite more quickly in a warehouse fire than smaller batteries used in smartphones and laptops.

Among others, recommendations include

• training staff in appropriate packing and handling procedures;
• establishing an emergency response plan to tackle damaged/overheating batteries and a hazard control plan to manage receiving, storage, dispatch and supervision of packaged Li-ion batteries;
• preventing the exposure of batteries to high temperatures and ensuring separation from other combustible materials; and
• prompt removal of damaged or defective Li-ion batteries.

Captain Randall Lund, Senior Marine Risk Consultant at AGCS: ‘Regulations and guidance are specific in addressing these batteries to help prevent most incidents, but these can only be effective if they are communicated and enforced. Only through a concerted effort by stakeholders in the supply chain can we hope to reduce the rate of incidents.’

Fire/explosion is the third top cause of shipping losses

Recent incidents in which a battery fire was cited as a possible cause or contributing factor include the March 2022 fire and subsequent sinking of ro-ro carrier Felicity Ace. In the same month, the US Coast Guard issued a safety alert about the risk posed by Li-ion batteries following two separate container fires.

In June 2020 a fire on the car carrier Höegh Xiamen in Florida was attributed to a failure to properly disconnect and secure vehicle batteries. In January 2020, a fire on the container ship Cosco Pacific was attributed to the combustion of a Li-ion battery cargo, which was not properly declared.

AGCS analysis of over 240,000 marine insurance industry claims over the past five years (with a value of EUR 9.2 billion), shows that fire/explosion (from all causes) is the most expensive cause of loss, accounting for eighteen per cent of the value of all claims.

The number of fires (from all causes) on board large vessels has increased significantly in recent years. Across all vessel types, fire/explosion was the second top cause of the 54 total losses reported in 2021 (8), second only to foundered (12). Over the past decade fire/explosion ranks as the third top cause of loss overall, accounting for 120 out of 892 reported total losses, behind foundered (465) and wrecked/stranded (164).

Ro-ro and car carriers more at risk

Ro-ro and car carriers can be more exposed to fire and stability issues than other vessels. To facilitate carriage of automobiles, the internal spaces are not divided into separate sections like other cargo ships. The lack of internal bulkheads can have an adverse impact on fire safety and a small fire on one vehicle or battery can grow out of control very quickly. Vehicles are not easily accessible once loading has been completed. The large volume of air inside the open cargo decks provides a ready supply of oxygen in case of fire.

Source: https://swzmaritime.nl/news/2022/09/02/prevention-measures-crucial-to-tackling-risk-of-battery-fires-in-shipping/