Recap: Batteries in the Maritime World – Shipment, Storage, and Risks
On 21st March 2024, the RMSC and Wista Rotterdam held a joint event on the shipment and storage of Lithium-Ion batteries. The meeting was hosted by Thomas Miller in Rotterdam and took place in Hotel New York. There was a large participation from both RMSC and Wista.
Four speakers guided the attendees through the risks and consequences of incidents of Lithium-ion batteries in the maritime industry.
Risks associated with the carriage of Lithium-Ion batteries
Rene Doff of Thomas Miller opened the gathering by thanking Christel Pullens for the joint event with WISTA. Not long before that Christel had ended her presidency of the board together with Secretary Marielle Gehlert as their terms ended with WISTA.
With the RMSC members pouring in the beautiful location the event started with the first speech which was given jointly by the Director of Loss Prevention at UK P&I Club Stuart Edmonston and Risk Assessment Manager at TT Club Neil Dalus.
The presentation highlighted the risks associated with the carriage of Lithium-Ion batteries and the specific challenges associated with fire-fighting onboard ship. There is an potential risk of so-called thermal runaway when Lithium-Ion batteries are either damaged or exposed to high temperature. It was explained that this phenomenon could cause a nearly unstoppable fire.
The importance of adequate stowing of vehicles
Captain Henk Smith from Marine Masters highlighted the importance of adequate stowing of vehicles in car carriers and shared his experience in salvage operations. It was explained how difficult and dangerous it can be to get onboard a car carrier in case of fire. One of the key matters appeared also to be communication with the various local authorities during an emergency situation.
Prevention provisions within contracts
Jitteke Blussé van Oud-Alblas of Caland Advocaten concluded the event with her legal input on the topics. She shared her views regarding the potential for providing prevention provisions within contracts. She shared possibilities to share costs of losses and salvage operations between the various stakeholders.
With technology rapidly advancing and batteries increasing in trade volume and individual capacity, regulations have been slow to catch up. For example, at present there is no requirement for EVs to be identified either during consignment procedures or by external markings on the vehicle. The speakers all agreed that mandatory markings would assist stowage and emergency response. It was agreed by the audience that clearer regulations would be welcomed on this matter.
Thanks to Priscilla Sonneville of Thomas Miller and Rosalie de Paepe – the new manager of RMSC who took over the role of Linda Treuman with this event as her last job – for the organization which despite the last-minute relocation was a great success.
