Blazes aboard yachts such as Aria SF have attracted international attention, including among media that typically don’t focus on yachting. Seemingly more incidents have occurred recently. Additionally, anecdotal evidence suggests the proliferation of lithium-ion batteries onboard in toys and propulsion is a leading cause. To sort fact from fiction when it comes to superyacht fires, our editor spoke with Engel de Boer, the yacht segment director for Lloyd’s Register.
Diane M. Byrne: Is it perception or reality that superyacht fires have increased over the past one to two years?
Engel de Boer: There have indeed been a number of accidents over the past year or so which have attracted a lot of publicity. In the last five years 55 reported accidents involved grounding or fire on yachts over 24 meters in length. The majority are fire related, with a lot of them resulting in a total loss and fortunately few casualties. Gathering information on incidents and accidents has always proven to be a challenge for the industry. It is likely that the number of accidents is significantly higher, looking at the more than 9,000 yachts over 24 meters.
Interestingly, a significant number of reported fires have occurred on yachts less than 500 gross tons. Many yachts are privately registered as opposed to commercially registered. Privately registered yachts only require tonnage, MARPOL, and radio certification. Insurance and flag states often require that the hull is designed and built to the requirements of a classification society to ensure sufficient strength. However, no other requirements are mandatory, so fire safety, for example, is voluntary. Commercially registered yachts, on the other hand, require full classification certificates. This includes compliance with applicable statutory regulations such as the various large-yacht codes which do cover fire and safety aspects.
Unfortunately, it seems that owners are not always well informed when it comes to buying a yacht, particularly with regards to safety. They generally assume safety is being dealt with, similar to buying a car. Providing owners with better information and introducing additional safety regulations for the privately registered sub-500-GT segment will significantly improve the industry’s safety record.
Diane M. Byrne: Were the fires during this period largely due to human error, or a mechanical malfunction/other non-human issue?
Engel de Boer: Where official accident investigation reports are available, quite often, human error is one of the main contributors. While there is definitely a need for more adequate training of crew and management companies, putting the blame on human error is, in my opinion, an easy way out. Yachts and their equipment/systems should be designed and engineered to significantly reduce the likelihood of human error. The technical solutions are there; they just need implementing. Fires as a consequence of thermal runaway of lithium-ion batteries, for example—of which we have seen an increase recently—can be adequately addressed by having the right precautions and systems onboard as well as appropriately trained staff. A lithium-ion battery fire is almost impossible to extinguish once it starts. Regulating or legislating for ignorance is hard—for example, when a fire is a consequence of leaving burning candles unattended.
Diane M. Byrne: What portion of superyacht fires are related to lithium-ion batteries?
Engel de Boer: The use of electrically driven, battery-powered loose equipment as part of the owners’ supply onboard yachts has significantly increased. Such equipment is usually outside the control and responsibility of the yard. The increase in use has also seen an increase in lithium-ion related fires. Lithium gadgets store in tender garages or dedicated storage areas. They are usually charged onboard using the ship’s power supplies. Their stored electrical power can be substantial, as are the associated risks. In a thermal-runaway incident, hot, toxic, and explosive gases in significant quantities release. Lithium-ion battery fires can’t easily extinguish and impose a substantial hazard to crew fighting them. Unless the battery is chemically dead after a fire, flammable gases can still release, accumulate, and lead to an explosion if the space is not adequately vented.
Specially trained crew need to evaluate the appropriate measures in case of a fire in a room with stored batteries. Battery spaces require a permanent dedicated ventilation system to extract toxic and explosive gases from lithium battery fires. Fortunately, a number of gas-detection systems can detect cell failure in a battery at an early stage. Early detection and subsequent disconnection of the power supply significantly reduces the likelihood of a battery going in thermal runaway. Lloyd’s Register is currently in the process of certifying this equipment.
Diane M. Byrne: Are there guidelines for yachts to mitigate risks from batteries, whether for watertoys or propulsion systems?
Engel de Boer: Lloyd’s Register developed guidelines on electrically driven, battery-powered owner supplies as soon as we noted an increase in incidents. This document provides safeguards and measures for increasing the safety of handling, charging, and storing lithium-ion gadgets. These guidelines are freely available upon request. The major flag states have decided to incorporate large parts of these guidelines in forthcoming regulatory updates, meaning they will become mandatory. Our recommendations for owners and crew include:
- Never leave the yacht unattended when lithium-ion gadgets are charging.
- Don’t store combustible materials in the battery area vicinity.
- Don’t exceed the aggregated battery power output for which the space is designed. Also, only store the gadgets in the dedicated and marked battery-storage area with an enhanced fixed firefighting system.
- Evaluate all limitations, conditions, and instructions from the supplier to ensure the equipment suits safe operation in a marine environment and onboard the yacht. Ensure the crew meets, communicates, and documents the requirements, too. This includes operational instructions, maintenance requirements, permissible temperature ranges, and humidity limitations.
- Secure batteries to prevent movement, cable disconnection, cable damage, or mechanical damage to the gadgets.
Lloyd’s Register has further introduced the Hybrid Power and Hybrid Power (+) class notations. The Hybrid Power class notation will apply to yachts with an electrical power system utilizing a combination of two or more different types of power source, or utilizing stored electrical energy to satisfy the ship’s main power demand. The Hybrid Power (+) class notation is for yachts meeting the requirements for hybrid power and the additional optional requirements, aimed to provide enhanced performance of the electrical power system achieved through the consideration of system simulation, system integration, and the dependability of the hybrid electrical power system during normal or reasonably foreseeable abnormal operation. The Lloyd’s Register rules also include a chapter on batteries to ensure safe energy storage and dependable supply of power to consumers by foreseeing external and internal hazards to the batteries being used.
Lloyd’s Register lr.org
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