The shipping industry is facing increasing pressure to cut emissions. Diesel-electric hybrid or fully electrical propulsion systems can offer significant savings in fuel consumption and reduce emissions. However, the use of energy storage battery systems on board vessels is introducing new fire hazards and advice on suitable fire extinguishing systems and agents is desired. In a series of tests, both total compartment application water spray and water mist systems and direct injection (using several different agents) into the module were evaluated in fire tests conducted to compare different fire extinguishing approaches for a fire in a battery cell. A test compartment was constructed to simulate a battery room and a commercially available lithium-ion (Li-ion) battery cell was positioned inside a cubic box that mimicked a battery module. By heating the battery cell, combustible gases were generated, and these gases were ignited by a pilot flame inside the simulated battery module. The tests indicated that fire extinguishment of a battery cell fire inside a battery module is unlikely when using total compartment water spray or water mist fire protection systems. The water droplets are simply not able to penetrate the battery module and reach to the seat of the fire. Direct injection of the fire extinguishing agent inside the battery module is necessary. The tests also showed that agents such as water and low-expansion foam, with a high heat capacity, provide rapid cooling and fire extinguishment. The reduced water surface tension associated with low-expansion foam may improve the possibilities for water penetration whilst agents with a high viscosity may not be able to spread to the seat of the fire. Agents with less heat capacity, such as high-expansion foam and nitrogen gas, provide less cooling but fire extinguishment can still be achieved if designed correctly.

The effectiveness of ‘drencher systems’ per Resolution A.123(V) has been questioned for many years. This report presents a review of potential commercially available alternative systems and their expected performance efficiency, water consumption and estimated installation costs. Additionally, large‑scale fire tests were performed for selected systems.

Three main alternative fire-extinguishing systems were identified:

• Compressed Air Foam Systems (CAFS)
• Foam-water sprinkler and foam‑water spray systems; and
• Water curtains.

Water curtains was the least expensive system, but the areas sub‑divided by the water curtains require cargo spacing, resulting in significant yearly losses in income for a ship owner. Furthermore, water curtains were de-selected since they cannot replace a conventional fire-extinguishing system.

The installation cost for the selected CAFS was very high and it gave limited fire suppression in the large‑scale fire tests, probably due to the limited discharge density of 2.4 mm/min.

The system per MSC.1/Circ.1430 (10 mm/min) had superior performance while the system per Resolution A.123(V) (5 mm/min) and the foam‑water spray system (6.5 mm/min + foam) limited the fire size to some degrees. However, for a potential spill fire scenario, improvements of foam could be relevant.

Foam injection could be an alternative, but no new system was recommended to be required.

In recent years, fire accidents on Ro-Ro ships have led to numerous fatalities and significant economic losses. The response of the crew and the ship's protection systems are crucial in managing these incidents and mitigating their consequences. To assess fire safety improvements, this study has focused on developing and quantifying a risk model that captures the dynamics of a fire starting in a Ro-Ro space. Various risk modelling techniques were reviewed to construct the model, which was then quantified using historical data, simulations, and expert judgments. A Delphi-based, fully digital approach to expert elicitation was introduced, utilizing Microsoft Teams and Microsoft Excel-based questionnaires. This method ensured full anonymity for the experts, reducing the risk of group bias and eliminating the need for travel. To enhance understanding and verify the results, uncertainty and sensitivity analyses were performed. They revealed that the potential loss of life deviated, with 90% confidence, from the calculated mean value by less than 26%. Overall, the questionnaire-based method proved effective for expert elicitation and for quantifying nodes in the risk model, demonstrating its utility in the risk assessment process.

The procedure to evaluate fire safety of alternative ship design solutions, described in MSC/Circ.1002, has been found insufficient for novel and large scopes. In this paper, it is analysed with regards to function and applicability as a risk-based assessment procedure. Deficiencies are addressed based on risk assessment research and involvement in over a dozen performed assessments. Clarified are inconsistencies in the fire safety regulations, which must be considered particularly during identification of hazards. It is also suggested that affected safety functions are evaluated separately if possible and that the assessment sophistication is adapted to the scope of introduced hazards; four levels to perform parts of or the whole assessment are proposed.

A detailed process to build environmentally friendly and fire safe island ferries in fiber reinforced polymer composite has been developed by SP Fire Technology in a Swedish-Danish consortium.

The LASS-C project, "Lightweight construction of a cruise vessel", expanded the concept of making lightweight structures in SOLAS vessels by considering not only superstructures, glass and internal design, but also elements which are part of the hull girder, affecting the ship's global strength. The existing Panamax cruise ship the Norwegian Gem worked as application case in the project where the uppermost five decks were redesigned in lightweight fibre reinforced polymer composite material. Comparing with the previous design, weight savings calculations showed that about 1 200 tons could be saved in load-bearing structures. FEM simulations showed that the weakening of the global strength from using lightweight structures could be compensated by reinforcing the lower decks, still making the residual weight savings economically interesting. Environmental and economic assessments were carried out from a life cycle perspective, proving the lightweight construction has less impact to surroundings and that additional costs would pay back in 2.5 years. The key issue for building ships in plastic composite, namely fire safety, was addressed by performing a risk assessment in line with the method provided for alternative fire safety design and arrangements in SOLAS II-2/17. A preliminary analysis report for the fire safety design was delivered to the Swedish Flag for approval as part of the project.

Stricter emission requirements have led to ship operation on low flashpoint fuels, such as liquefied natural gas and methanol. These differ in many ways from traditional fuels (e.g. heavy fuel oil and marine gas oil), but requirements and guidelines for fire detection and extinguishment have been sparse. This was addressed in the proFLASH project, first theoretically and then experimentally. This report documents the experimental part of the project, focusing on methanol, and gives technical guidance for fire detection and extinguishing systems. It was for example concluded that methanol flames exhibit similar radiation to ethanol in the IR spectrum, despite limited observability in the visual spectrum. Approved IR flame detectors (tested against ethanol) are thereby likely suitable to detect methanol fire; tested detectors could even detect fully obstructed methanol fire. The design concentration of carbon dioxide gas fire-extinguishing systems should be increased from 40 % to 55 % to achieve the same safety margin for methanol as for traditional fuels. The primary extinguishing mechanism of a water-based fire-extinguishing system used against methanol is dilution, but almost 90 % water may be necessary for extinguishment. Furthermore, dilution makes the methanol flames increasingly invisible. It is recommended to use alcohol resistant foam injection with fixed water-based extinguishing systems, since this significantly reduces the time required for extinguishment. The effectiveness of the system depends on the foam/water application rate. Hence, a higher discharge rate is more effective and a concealed pool is difficult to extinguish. In different compartment fire test scenarios, water-spray with foam injection was more effective against methanol than water-spray without foam against standardized fuels. High and low pressure water mist performed better than water spray against standardized fuels but worse against methanol (with foam injection).

This paper presents a procedure for how to relate fire performance of fibre reinforced polymer (FRP) composite structures to the fire safety regulations in SOLAS II-2. It can be used as basis when performing a fire risk assessment to demonstrate that the degree of safety is at least equivalent to that provided by prescriptive requirements. A key issue is that requirements and test methods are based on a use of steel structures, which requires seeking the safety level implied by the regulations. This was demonstrated for the regulations and introduced hazards affecting the growth stage of a fire. The safety implied by regulations was related to fire performance of FRP composite by reference to fire tests involving typical materials and some relevant safety measures. Ignition was described as uncritical whilst the fire growth on an FRP composite surface can be rapid. Flammability requirements are generally not achieved by an untreated panel but different means can be used for protection. A fire protective coating can be used to prevent ignition and sprinkler is effective both for fire prevention and extinguishment on interior and external surfaces. For interior spaces it can be relevant with a coating or thermal insulation also to hinder increased generation of smoke and toxic gases during fire evacuation. In total it is shown that fire hazards during the fire growth stage are manageable and a foundation is lain out for a well-structured fire risk assessment.

Reduced weight makes use of fiber reinforced polymer composite desirable in maritime construction applications. Exterior ship surfaces in combustible materials are although not covered by firesafety regulations and their fire protection is therefore a key issue. This paper reports how SP FIRE 105, a standardized test method for testing reaction to fire properties of façade systems, was adjusted and used to evaluate the potential for fire growth on external combustible ship surfaces; in particular fiber reinforced polymer composite surfaces protected with active or passive measures. The trials show that the test method is highly suitable but that some adjustments could be made to reduce uncertainties; in particular to use a gas burner instead of a heptane pool fire source and to add a strong criterion for when to activate active measures. Further efforts should also be made to develop suitable performance criteria, which were suggested to be based on the produced heat and the gas temperatures at the top of the panel.

This paper presents a model for estimating temperatures in pre-flashover fires where the fire enclosure boundaries are assumed to have lumped heat capacity. That is, thermal inertia is concentrated to one layer with uniform temperature and insulating materials are considered purely by their heat transfer resistance. The model yields a good understanding of the heat balance in a fire enclosure and was used to predict temperatures in insulated and non-insulated steel-bounded enclosures. Comparisons were made with full scale experiments and with other predictive methods, including CFD modeling with FDS and the so called MQH relationship. Input parameter values to the model were then taken from well-known literature and the heat release rateswere provided from the experiments. The fire temperature predictions of the model matched very well with experimental data. So did the FDS predictions while the original MQH relationship gave unrealistic results for the problems studied. Major benefits of using the model in comparison with CFD modeling are its readiness and simplicity as well as the negligible computation times needed. An Excel application of the presented pre-flashover fire model is available on request from the author.

A series of model scale experiments were conducted to study the fire development in a ro-ro deck with various opening geometries. The experiments were performed in a 1/8 reduced scale model with a heptane pool fire as fire source. Experimental results show that both the ventilation factor and the opening position affect the fire development. The critical opening ratio for the fire to self-extinguish is 4%, with the opening locating at the bottom of the side walls while no self-extinction is found for other tests. A higher opening position and a larger opening height provide better flow exchange between the deck and the ambient, but this effect is only obvious for 4% opening. Numerical study shows that Fire Dynamic Simulator used with default simple settings underestimates the fire development and yields an early extinction when fire self-extinction occurs. For freely developed fire with large openings, FDS gives more close results to experiments.

The EU funded project LASH FIRE aims to provide a recognized technical basis for the revision of international IMO regulations, to greatly enhance fire prevention and ensure independent management of fires on ro-ro ships. The consortium is coordinated by RISE Research Institutes of Sweden and comprises 26 partners from 13 Member States of the European Union, including industry partners, research institutes, universities, regulatory bodies, trade associations and experts in communication and external relations. LASH FIRE makes use of the great potential in using new and advancing technologies and procedures to propose cost-effective solutions that mitigate the risk of fires initiated in ro-ro spaces. The solutions are being assessed for feasibility and performance validation, and demonstrated with help of the involved ship operators and yards.

In 2016, EMSA initiated the first FIRESAFE study in order to investigate cost-efficient measures for reducing the risk from fires on ro-ro spaces with a focus on Electrical Fire as ignition source as well as Fire Extinguishing Failure. In 2017, EMSA initiated the FIRESAFE II study to investigate risk control options in relation to Detection and Decision as well as Containment and Evacuation, following a ro-ro space fire incident on any ro-ro passenger ship.The main objective of FIRESAFE and FIRESAFE II was to improve the fire safety of ro-ro passenger ships by cost-efficient safety measures reducing the risk of ro-ro space fire, with an aim to discuss specific proposals for rule making.This report presents the results of the combined assessment of cost effectiveness based on the results from the different parts previously considered separately in FIRESAFE and FIRESAFE II.The combined cost-effectiveness assessment was performed on 21 Risk Control Options (RCOs) for three generic ships representing the world fleet of RoPax ships (Cargo, Standard and Ferry RoPax), taking into account potential differences between Newbuildings and Existing ships.Recommendations for decision making were provided based on the results of the combined cost-effectiveness assessment.

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.

Fire and smoke containment are well known issues during fires in ro-ro spaces, especially in case of uncontrolled fires. Similarly, in some accidents, evacuation systems remained inoperative due to the heat and flames coming through the openings of the ro-ro spaces.This report presents a Formal Safety Assessment on containment and on evacuation 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 three Risk Control Options (RCOs), taking into account potential differences between newbuildings and existing ships.From a containment perspective, the RCO Fire monitors on weather decks was found cost-effective for newbuildings and existing ships of the three ship categories.From an evacuation outlook, a safe distance was estimated to ensure the protection of stowage areas, embarkation stations and evacuation routes, and LSA failure due to heat and smoke following a fire in a ro-ro space. Several design solutions were investigated and cost-effective solutions were found for the Standard RoPax and Ferry RoPax.

One of the main issues with regard to fire safety of open ro-ro spaces and weather decks is that detection systems may not be as efficient as in closed ro-ro spaces. Several recent total losses of ro-ro ships have stressed the need for investigating more efficient fire detection solutions.

This study evaluated available and emerging fire detection technologies for use in open ro-ro spaces and on weather decks. A review of relevant regulations was performed as well as an evaluation of the expected efficiency of the identified alternative detection technologies, considering detection time and sensitivity to weather conditions, loading conditions and deck configuration, as well as cost.

Fibre optic linear heat detection and thermal imaging camera detection were selected for fire tests in open ro-ro space and on weather deck, respectively, onboard a commercial RoPax vessel. Both systems were found functional and suitable for the relevant ro-ro space environments. The risk reduction potentials of the systems were quantified and a cost-effectiveness assessment was performed. Thermal imaging camera detection was found cost-effective for all types of RoPax (Existing ships and Newbuildings), and fibre optic linear heat detection system was found cost-effective for Standard and Ferry RoPax (Existing ships and Newbuildings).

This is the report from the literature study of the RoBound (Ro-ro space Boundary fire protection) project. RoBound is carried out by RISE Research Institutes of Sweden AB.The ro-ro ships have a large longitudinal space where cars, trucks and other cargo can be rolled on and rolled off. Despite improved fire protection regulations, many fire accidents have occurred on ro-ro ships and there are no signs of them diminishing in number or magnitude. During a review of the fire safety regulations, the IMO correspondence group has particularly pinpointed the need for additional experimental data or results of scientific studies regarding:- The performance of A-60 boundaries in case of a ro-ro space fire, especially to prevent fire spread to accommodation spaces; and- The performance of A-0 boundaries in case of a ro-ro space fire, especially to prevent fire spread between ro-ro spaces.In this process, Sweden has moreover underlined the issue of the smoke tightness of A-class divisions with doors. While smoke tightness is a requirement for A-class divisions, the fire resistance test method in the Fire Test Procedures (FTP) Code is not designed to evaluate hazards associated with smoke spread. RoBound purpose is to clarify the performance of “state-of-the-art” fire boundaries between ro-ro spaces and accommodation spaces or other ro-ro spaces, and to give recommendations on how sufficient fire containment is ensured. RoBound aims to strengthen competence and influence regulation development regarding fire divisions of ro-ro ships.The main result from the literature study is that :- The concept of horizontal fire zones, allowing ro-ro spaces and special category spaces to be as long as the whole ship, was introduced in 1967 according to resolution A.122(V), but was made mandatory long time after. In SOLAS 1974, entered into force in 1980 the main vertical zones was included in the regulation.- The land based method will not be used in RoBound since some smoke tightness solutions are based on an intumescent sealing joint. In order to be activated, the joint needs high temperature which is not reach in the land based standard.- Hose ports, also denoted “Cat holes”, are used on board with different experiences. Some think it works fine, other that it more problem. Level of maintenance vary from almost nothing to a lot of hassle. It is concluded that they reduce the amount of smoke spreading through the door compared with have a wedge and doorway open.- Doors to the ro-ro space is not perceived as smoke tight, and so are not lift doors. Crew is aware of the importance of well closing fire doors, checks are made daily.- Fire insulation in ro-ro spaces can be damaged by loading of trailers or during maintenance work. There can also be water damage (testing of drenchers, cleaning or by rain) and general wear and tear. Damaged insulation happens but not too often so it is not experienced as a problem for the crew.

This report is the final report from the research project RO5. The report summarises the results from the research project RO5. The report consists of summary from a literature study, from computer simulations and from model scale tests. This, together with results from full scale demonstrational test (documented only in this report) leads to the conceptional solutions and recommendations presented in this report. The project focused aim was to investigate the effects of ventilation on fire development in ro-ro spaces with different ventilation conditions.

Important conclusion from the literature study is that ventilation is primary to prevent flammable and other harmful gases from accumulating in the spaces, and the mechanical ventilation is not designed to be functional in case of fire. It is a must for the crew to gain knowledge about the ventilation system (i.e. fans, inlets and outlets) and its capacity from tests and experiences. It is important that guidelines, rules and routines are established for using the ventilation system in typical conditions (loading/unloading etc.) and that it is documented and passed on to provide guidance for the ship's crew.

One of the most important conclusions from the model scale tests and numerical simulation study is that distinct limitation is found for 4% opening of space sides (natural ventilation) for the fire self-extinction to occur. This is dependent on the height and shape of the opening. For the mechanical ventilation case, in case of fire, stopping the ventilation is the best way to reduce the fire intensity. The tests show that mechanical ventilation is vital for the fire to continue to burn. The recommendations aim at giving advise concerning ventilation in case of fire and how to deal with the ventilation at different ro-ro spaces.

RAMSSES (Realisation and Demonstration of Advanced Material Solutions for Sustainable and Efficient Ships) is an Innovation Action project partly funded by the European Commission in the framework of the H2020 program. During the 4 years of the project, 13 demonstrators will be developed and realised to demonstrate the feasibility and efficiency of the introduction of innovative materials in shipbuilding. Objectives of using new materials such as composite materials and high tensile strength steel are to reduce the weight of the vessel and to increase performance compared to when using conventional material. The role of the classification society Bureau Veritas Marine & Offshore in the project RAMSSES is to help and support shipyards, designers, naval architects and owners to reach the above objectives while achieving existing rules and international regulations. The paper gives an overview of current international regulations and especially the recent IMO (International Maritime Organization) interim guidelines MSC.1/Circ.1574 concerning the use of Fibre Reinforced Plastic (FRP) elements within ship structures. The global survey scheme applied by classification societies is described and the material approval process is detailed in the scope of innovative material certification. An accelerated approval process called “Fast Track to Approval” (FTA), developed in collaboration with RAMSSES partners and leading to the certification of innovative solutions in ship construction is presented in detail. The goal of the FTA is to have a rapid and efficient methodology for the approbation of new designs or solutions involving advanced materials. This process is based on risk analysis, including model and demonstrator case tests performed during the RAMSSES project. Moreover, a materials database has been obtained from mechanical and fire test results carried out on innovative materials, which is utilized for the FTA. The FTA also makes use of proposed standard risk scenarios, standard tests and standard solutions, in addition to the database to look up reusable data. This will accelerate the process for approval of innovative maritime solutions for sustainable and efficient ships. 

To reduce environmental impact and to manage weight in shipping and offshore, lightweight structures are becoming increasingly important. A critical issue for loadbearing structures is their structural fire integrity. It is generally evaluated by loaded furnace fire resistance tests based on ISO 834. As part of the EU project BESST, a series of such tests were performed with typical lightweight fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) composite sandwich structures. The purpose was to determine whether structural fire integrity is sensitive to the design load, design method and safety factor against buckling. In particular was examined whether the temperature at the interface between the exposed laminate and the core is critical for structural integrity and how it depends on the applied loading. Independence of the applied load would make performance solely a matter of heat transfer, which would significantly reduce necessary testing. The tests were carried out with starting point in an insulated sandwich panel system, certified as a 60 minute Fire Resisting Division (FRD-60) for high-speed craft in accordance with the Fire Test Procedures (FTP) Code. The structure consisted of 1.3 mm glass fiber reinforced polyester laminates surrounding a cross linked PVC foam core called Divinycell H80 (80 kg/m3). It was constructed for a 7 kN/m design load, which is the loading applied in the FTP Code furnace test for high-speed craft. Hence, with a conventional safety factor against buckling of 2.5 it was designed to resist a critical load of 17.4 kN/m. With basis in this design, tests were performed with structures where the thickness of the laminates or core had been altered and with adjusted safety factor against the applied loading. In addition, a test was performed with a stiffened panel. Firstly it was noted that 60 minutes of fire resistance was not achieved in most of the tests, which was a consequence of an alteration in the FTP Code test procedures. The FRD-60 structure used as starting point was certified before the 2010 edition of the FTP Code was ratified. This harmonized the test procedure between laboratories and gave a slightly tougher temperature development than when the structure was certified. However, the test results are still valid and show a small variation in the time to failure in the tests with unstiffened sandwich structures, ranging between 51 and 58.5 minutes. Changing the safety factor from 2.5 to 1.5 resulted in a relatively small decrease in time to failure of 3 minutes. The stiffened test showed that structural resistance is better achieved by use of stiffeners than by thick laminates. Furthermore, applying this as a design principle and using a safety factor of 2.5 leaves a test variation between 55 and 58.5 minutes. The temperature at the exposed laminate-core interface was quite similar in the tests at the time of failure. This excludes the test when the laminate thickness was increased as a measure for structural improvement. In conclusion, the test series shows that fire resistance bulkhead testing of insulated FRP composite panels can be simplified and does not have to be performed with varying design loads. To achieve conservative evaluation, a design concept should be evaluated by testing the panel designed for the highest applicable load level, not by testing a weak panel at 7 kN/m loading. This applies to non-stiffened solutions.

Lightweight structures become increasingly important to reduce environmental impact and to improve payload/deadweight ratio of ships. Significant weight savings can be accomplished by replacing steel with fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) sandwich panels. An assessment is then necessary to ensure that equivalent fire safety is provided, since the structures are combustible. To support such assessments, this paper presents results from vertically loaded fire resistance tests of two structures: (1) a “conventional” FRP sandwich bulkhead with thermal insulation (providing load carrying fire resistance for 60 minutes) and (2) a multiple core FRP sandwich bulkhead without insulation. Both bulkheads were constructed for and tested with the same design load. The multiple core sandwich bulkhead demonstrated structural fire integrity performance well beyond 60 minutes whilst having a significantly lower structural weight and thickness. The new type of multiple core sandwich structure thus provides great potential, both from a weight-savings and a fire safety perspective.

The objective of this project was to establish an innovative ship concept for a fully electric Ro-Pax ship, which makes use of new technology, especially in the area of electrical propulsion and energy storage. The project also included a risk assessment of the concept and identification of possible follow-up studies of critical design items. There is a growing demand for all types of shipping to reduce their emissions of greenhouse gases and particles, and also NOx and SOx. Meeting IMO’s emissions objective by 2050 will require large efforts both for energy efficiency measures on existing ships and for new concepts for fossil-free ships. Electrical propulsion for small ships has been discussed for long and many installations are today operational. This project is an innovation project with participation from industrial partners contributing to the overall goal of sustainable shipping by proposing a ship concept for an electrically powered large Ro-Pax ship for shorter international voyage. The amount of electric energy estimated to be stored in batteries onboard is approximately 60 MWh. This is ten times more than the current largest marine battery installation. When it comes to fire safety, it is very important with a holistic approach, including integrity, ventilation, failure detection and fire suppression methods, etc., based on hazard identification. The battery fire safety concept developed in this project constitutes safety requirements guidelines for large ship battery installations and is one of the main results from the conducted risk analysis work. The idea of the presented concept is that it should be applicable for any electrically powered ship and that it could be used as starting point for discussions on IMO harmonized regulations for battery energy storage systems onboard ships. It can be concluded that a fully electric Ro-Pax ship operating on the route Gothenburg to Frederikshavn is a technically and commercially realistic alternative.