Republic of Liberia has issued an advisory to draw the attention of shipowners, operators, inspectors, masters and crew to the hazards associated with vessels with wheelhouses not protected by a fire detection and alarm system.
The Administration is in the process of finalizing its investigation into a recent fire on board a vessel whose wheelhouse was not protected by a fire detection and alarm system, which is currently not required under existing regulation SOLAS II-2/7.5.5. The investigation is considering that the most likely cause of the fire was the thermal runaway of a lithium-ion battery pack for a hand-held radio that was being charged on a desktop in wheelhouse.
Recommendation
Therefore, the Administration recommends that Owners, Operators, Masters and Crew of vessels whose wheelhouses are not protected with a fixed fire detection and fire alarm system take measures to ensure that highly flammable material not be stored in the wheelhouse, and that the charging of
lithium-ion batteries not be done unattended or unsupervised.
