Early detection of fire and quick activation of the fire extinguishing system are often considered as the main keys to successful fire management, allowing to prevent loss of life and damage to the ship and cargo.

This report presents a Formal Safety Assessment on detection and on decision of extinguishing system activation following a ro-ro space fire incident on any ro-ro passenger ship.

The safety level was estimated for three generic ships representing the world fleet of RoPax ships (Cargo, Standard, and Ferry RoPax) and a cost-effectiveness assessment was performed on six Risk Control Options (RCO), taking into account potential differences between newbuildings and existing ships.

From a detection perspective, only the RCO Combined smoke and heat detection was found cost-effective for Standard and Ferry newbuildings (but not for existing ships).

From a decision perspective, the RCO Improved markings/signage for way-finding and localisation and Alarm System Design & Integration met the cost-effectiveness criteria on all three generic ships, except for the Existing Cargo RoPax ships for the latter RCO. The RCO Preconditions for Early Activation of Drencher System was found cost-effective for Standard and Ferry RoPax ships.