However, maritime transportand international navigation are exposed to various risks or hazards includingaccidents due to bad weather conditions, grounding accidents, structuralfailures, and badly loaded containers.
In this article we talked about the importanceof the VGM and the weight of the containers to prevent them from being lost atsea with concrete consequences and navigational hazards.
Another risk thatshould not be overlooked is that concerning battery fires in maritimetransport. According to a recent report by Allianz Global Corporate &Specialty, the number of fires on board large vessels has increasedsignificantly in recent years. Across all vessel types and causes, fire or explosionwas the second top cause of the 54 total losses reported in 2021. Inparticular, the risk of fire deriving from lithium-ion batteries transported incontainer ships or during the transport of electric vehicles on car carrier shipsand ro-ro ships has a significant impact on maritime safety. It is necessary toimplement effective control measures to avoid potential dangers thatlithium-ion batteries can pose for the shipping and wider logistics industries,whether they are being transported inside electric vehicles or as standalonecargo. If they are not handled, stored, or transported correctly, lithium-ionbatteries can cause hazards including fire, explosion, toxic gases, and thermalrunaway events. They can also aggravate other causes of fire at sea.
Theprimary focus must be the prevention centering on storage and transit. It is importantto ensure staff is trained to follow correct packing and handling procedures duringthe storage and transport phases. All stakeholders in the supply chain mustunderstand the hazards, the most common causes, and the problems related to thetransportation of lithium-ion batteries to improve safety in the maritimetransport sector.
