Analytical Research of the Container Ships Cargo Area Fires in the Period From 2010 to 2020

Abstract

Container transport by sea has almost doubled in the last decade. Accordingly, container ships’ size has increased significantly, and the latest container ships carry up to 24000 Twenty-foot Equivalent Units (TEU). In the near future, the appearance of container ships with a capacity of 25000 TEUs can be expected on the market, because the design is already available. It is known that 10-12% of transported containers contain International Maritime Dangerous Goods (IMDG) cargo. The above stated reasons directly impact the frequency of container ship fires in cargo spaces. According to the Insurance Companies, fires occur on average every two months, and this is a growing problem of container transport by sea. In this paper, 23 fires in the cargo area, either in cargo holds or on deck, were analysed. The analysis results determined the most common causes of fires and have shown that the current fire protection systems on container ships are ineffective. It is unacceptable that firefighting systems’ inefficiency results in the loss of human lives, abandonment of vessels, environmental pollution, and extensive property losses related to cargo and ship structure. Due to all the above, it is necessary to continuously work on new regulatory and technical solutions to improve the fire safety of cargo areas on container ships.