CONCERNS have been raised about the 'hidden threat' of carrying electric and hybrid vehicles on board Scotland's ferries - amidst growing concern they present a fire risk.
It comes as fears are rising that a blaze on an electric vehicle (EV) would pose greater challenges that a standard fire on a ferry as they are more ferocious, are hard to extinguish and in some circumstances can cause explosions.
The Herald understands that concerns about whether enough is being done to counter the emerging risks involving in dealing with a EV car blaze have been raised internally with CalMac, which provides lifeline services to islands off the west coast of Scotland.
The dangers of transportation would also affect Northlink Ferries which provides ferry services, between mainland Scotland and the Northern Isles of Orkney and Shetland.
The multinational insurance firm Allianz has highlighted concerns in a new analysis seen by the Herald warning that the prevalence of Lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries poses a "growing risk" for container shipping and car carriers with the market "expected to grow by over 30% annually over the next decade".
It said that pre-emptive measures were needed to help "mitigate the peril such as ensuring crew receive adequate training and access to appropriate firefighting equipment, improving early detection systems and developing hazard control and emergency plans".
In Norway, which leads the world in electric vehicle adoption and where nine in 10 new cars sold in the country are electric or hybrid, ferry operator, Havila Kystrute has now banned all electric, hybrid and hydrogen cars from its ships after a risk assessment.
The firm, which does not carry any more than five vehicles on its ships says that while any fire in fossil vehicles could be handled by the systems and crew they had, any fire in electric, hybrid or hydrogen cars would require external rescue efforts and "could endanger people" on board and the ships.
Graham Walker, an Islay-based associate member of the Institute of Marine Engineering, Science & Technology with ten years on ships, predominantly oil tankers and 11 years running a gas turbine maintenance service firm who has been looking into safety on Scots ferries, having spoken to staff and said he feared that it would take a disaster before action is taken to improve safety.
"There is a hidden threat stalking the ferries that connect all of us who live on the Scottish islands to the mainland and in the rush to bring us to a greener place, the Li-ion battery powered vehicle represents a threat to the safety of the ferries that transport them to and from the mainland.
"My feeling and that of many people I talk to is that this is a disaster waiting to happen," said the marine engineer.
CalMac and Northlink insist their procedures for dealing with EVs are safe.
Concerns have been flagged over a risk to life in the wake of an electric vehicle (EV) fire that sparked a 13-day blaze onboard the Felicity Ace, a roll-on roll-off cargo ship sunk off Portugal's Azores islands in March, last year with 4,000 vehicles onboard.
A vlog on the sinking of the Felicity Ace.
Out of around 4,000 vehicles, an unspecified number were all-electric, battery-powered and one local port said that “the battery packs are keeping the fire alive”. It has not been established whether the fire was directly caused by an EV.
One engineer officer raised concerns with the Nautilus maritime union over the potential for the rapid spread of EV fires and explosions, which could put fire-fighters lives at risk.
"It is difficult to contain a fire from one EV car spreading to another because [EVs] are stowed onboard with no more than 30 cm between them, and they most definitely couldn't be moved," he said, further suggesting training revisions will be required to deal with EV transport.
The National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers raised initial concerns in the wake of the fire in a circular saying that a National Maritime Occupational Health and Safety Committee meeting heard reservations about the carriage and charging of electric vehicles onboard vessels.
"It has been reported that during a conference in Norway, experts had warned against the use of salt water to tackle a Li-ion battery fire, as the salt could generate hydrogen and cause an explosion. Fire brigades had assumed that fresh water would be used to tackle battery fires."
Mr Walker who is a regular ferry user said he was shocked to find that contrary to the Martime and Coastal Agency guidelines he was told by staff that there was little training in what to do when there was an electric vehicle fire and what the associated risk was.
MCA guidance also says that electric vehicles should be marked to aid quick identification but he said that also was not happening.
He believes that at the very least special measures should be taken to segregate EVs and increase the spacing between vehicles of at least 1.5 metres so that firefighters have a chance of preventing a "catastrophic fire". He also said the number of firefighters should be increased.
Mr Walker, who is a retained operator employed by energy company SSE to assist with Islay's emergency power station said there was a fire at the halfway point of the Islay trip the master of the vessel "would be forced to get all the passengers off the vessel into the lifeboats" and there would be a risk of losing the vessel.
"Your chances of extinguishing a Li-ion if it is surrounded by so many cars is very difficult and create a greater risk. These are not professional firefighters that we are talking about here," he said.
"Not enough is being done to stop the risks, sadly.
Capt Dirk Vande Velde, vice president of the Cargo Incident Notification System (CINS), a shipping line initiative, launched in September 2011, developed to increase safety said he understood why the Norwegian company had banned EVs.
He has said that the shipping of li-ion batteries in any form was a "bloody dangerous business" and said the risk to roll-on roll-off vessels such as ferries was clear.
The challenge presented with li-ion battery was that any issue generated by a fault can develop in just milliseconds to incredibly high temperatures of above 800 degrees celsius.
One of the key ways to deal with mitigating li-ion battery fires is to cool the flames with large amounts of water but experts say that on a ferry that can have a destabilising effect of free surface water around a cargo deck which could contribute to the loss of the vessel.
CINS believes that the likelihoood and severity of fire risks associated with the batteries is evidenced by there being more than 300 fires ore fire-related incidents with 40 fatalities over the past two decades. Studies show that the common causes of fires and explosions involving the battiers is due to internal manufacturing defects, physical damage or substandard quality, internal electrical failure all of which cause what is called thermal runway - a rapid self-heating fire that can cause an explosion.
CINS believe new car batteries are safer, older or refurbished units may not be of the same quality and could pose a greater risk.
Mr Vande Velde, who is part of a team of industry experts looking to formulate a workable response to EV fires said there it was not easy to use fire fighting systems or equipment to tackle blazes.
He said many fire-fighting systems were "not efficient due to the "gases created" when the fire erupts.
Of the Norway action he said: "Roll-on roll-off ships do carry on top a lot of passengers and I do understand the company decision."
He said there were issues where electric cars transported have been involved in an accident meaning there is a need to implement proper procedures and verification.
Nearly 10% of global car sales were electric in 2021, four times the market share in 2019.
Allianz warned the main causes of li-ion fires are substandard manufacturing or damaged battery cells or devices, over-charging, and short circuiting.
"Fires in EVs with li-ion batteries can burn more ferociously, are difficult to extinguish, and are capable of spontaneously reigniting," they said.
"Most ships lack the suitable fire protection, firefighting capabilities, and detection systems to tackle such fires at sea."
A CalMac spokeswoman said: “The risk of carrying Electric Vehicle (EVs)s has been assessed by trained personnel and we have developed procedures following the release of specific guidance issued by the MCA and the European Maritime Safety Agency.
"This guidance was developed through consultation with the marine industry and is aimed at all types of electric vehicles, including hybrid electric vehicles and plug in hybrids. [CalMac] is involved in ongoing industry working groups to further develop systems, procedures, and training in dealing with fires involving EVs.
“Ro-Ro ferries are designed to fight and contain vehicle fires, with all vehicle decks equipped with specific equipment including drencher systems that provide continuous containment and extinguishing capability. Water is considered an effective firefighting medium for extinguishing or containing of a fire involving EVs and has the benefit of helping to control gases emitted during a fire. Crew receive specialist training and attend refresher firefighting courses on a regular basis.
“Considerable effort goes into the detection of fires should they occur on board while a vessel is on passage, including the use of CCTV, alarm systems and fire patrols to prevent the escalation of fires through early detection.”
A spokesman for Serco NorthLink Ferries said: “NorthLink Ferries has a range of measures and protocols for safely transporting both standard and electric vehicles. These measures, which meet Flag State guidance, follow robust risk assessments which are regularly reviewed. We have recently upgraded our onboard fire response equipment specifically looking at EV associated risks.
"This includes new fire suits, infrared thermal imaging equipment and vehicle fire blankets specifically designed to provide full vehicle coverage. We have been leading on the design and production of bespoke under vehicle water lances which would specifically target water drenching/cooling of any potential hot spots. Electric vehicles carried on our services are identified at check in and identifiable to crew by virtue of a specific green EV vehicle windscreen marker, and recorded on the vessel loading plan.
"Only last Saturday we were pleased to host a multi-agency emergency exercise using MV. Hjaltland in Port of Aberdeen which specifically focused on EV risk and provided Scottish Fire and Rescue Service an opportunity to test their response to any such incident at the same time as allowing us to demonstrate our latest onboard upgraded response equipment."
A Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) spokesperson said: “MGN653 guidance provides information for ferry companies on how to safely operate electric charging points for vehicles onboard ferries, but the installation, maintenance and safe operation is the responsibility of the ferry companies.
“The notice provides information for companies about fire safety and goes beyond the question of charging, looking at the overall fire safety of electric vehicles on passenger ro-ro ferries.”
A recent picture taken by Mr Walker on the Loch Seaforth which plys the three-hour Ullapool to Stornoway crossing across the Minch.
He says controlling a major EV car fire at point A may be possible because of the adjacent location of fire monitors which have a very large water flow rate.
But a EV lithium ion battery fire at position "B" is a "completely different kettle of fish" as the seat of the fire is located in the floor of the car and the fire teams have no way to access it.
He says that if the car was fully charged then in the event of a thermal runaway, the jets of flame caused by the thermal decomposition of the battery are a severe hazard to the close proximity of the adjacent petrol or diesel cars and the jet of flames will be at the same height as the plastic fuel tanks used on most modern cars.
The water sprinklers have no effect on the battery fire. The smoke and heat which will meet the fire team will be intense.
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