Another fire disaster at sea: Insurers renew call for improved fire protection
In light of the increasing number of maritime accidents in international shipping and the resulting billions in damages, fire protection strategies on ships urgently need to be modernized.
Just days after the fire on the car freighters Morning Midas, the container ship MV WAN HAI 503 caught fire in the Indian Ocean. In both cases, the crew was unable to extinguish the fire and had to abandon the ship, leaving it to the flames. In the current situation, four crew members are also missing. "Fires in international shipping pose a major threat to crews and increasingly lead to the total loss of the ship and large parts of its cargo," warns Anja Käfer-Rohrbach, Deputy Chief Executive of the German Insurance Association (GDV). Given the total value of up to one billion euros, shipowners are being urged to better protect both their vessels and cargo.
According to fire safety experts at GDV, many fire disasters at sea could be prevented—if ships were equipped with modern fire suppression systems instead of technology from the 1950s. Currently, fires on both container ships and car freighters are detected too late and cannot be effectively fought with onboard resources. "The fire suppression systems on container ships urgently need to be modernized. Among other things, we need systems that can effectively reach every part of the ship without putting people in danger," says Käfer-Rohrbach. Container ships should also be divided into fire zones to prevent the spread of flames using automatic water curtains.
GDV is bringing its fire protection proposals to the international stage, particularly through the International Maritime Organization (IMO), which is part of the United Nations. "Fire safety in maritime shipping is a global problem that can only be solved at the international level," says Käfer-Rohrbach.
