Following the fire on the car carrier “Morning Midas” in the Pacific, transport insurers have renewed their call for an overhaul of fire extinguishing systems in the RoRo shipping industry.
As a result of the recent disaster, the German Insurance Association (GDV) is strongly in favor of mandatory equipment of ships with fully automatic fire detection systems, high-pressure water mist systems and infrared-controlled extinguishing monitors.
The association announced a renewed push for this at the International Maritime Organization (IMO). “Fire protection in maritime shipping is a global problem that can and must only be solved at an international level,” explained Deputy Managing Director Anja Käfer-Rohrbach in Berlin.
“Morning Midas” loaded with 3,000 cars
The “Morning Midas ” (12,249 dwt), built in 2006 by the British shipping company Zodiac Maritime, has been on fire since Tuesday around 500 km south of the island of Adak, which belongs to Alaska. There are around 3,000 vehicles on board, including 800 electric and semi-electric cars.
According to unconfirmed reports, the ship is chartered by SAIC Anji Logistics, a subsidiary of Chinese car manufacturer SAIC Motor, which, like other Chinese car companies, maintains its own shipping capacities for overseas transportation. The port of destination was Lazaro Cardenas in Mexico.
As the shipping company Zodiac Maritime annouces, all 22 crew members were safely evacuated and picked up by the container ship “Cosco Hellas”. The ship owner has now commissioned the salvage company Resolve Marine. A first tugboat has already been mobilized and is expected to arrive at the distressed vessel on 9 June. A second is expected to follow shortly.
The insurers fear that the fire will be difficult to bring under control due to the large number of battery-powered vehicles. Fires involving lithium-ion batteries are associated with extreme heat development and the formation of toxic and flammable gases. Whether the fire started in an electric car or a combustion engine does not matter in the first instance. “The decisive factor is that burning electric cars on board are very difficult to extinguish,” emphasized GDV functionary Käfer-Rohrbach.
After the “Felicity Ace” (2022) and the “Fremantle Highway” (2023), the “Morning Midas” was the third major fire in ro/ro shipping within a few years. With around 10,000 new vessels destroyed, the cargo damage alone for all three together amounted to well over one billion euros, according to GDV. (mph)
