The Norwegian Maritime Authority issues an alert concerning a small fire that erupted in the battery room onboard Ytterøyningen passenger ferry and provides recommendations on dealing with unsafe situations onboard vessels.
Specifically, on October 10, a small fire erupted onboard the ferry that called the firefighting, which assisted the situation. The ferry used its own machinery and travelled to harbour, where it departed all passengers and crew.
In the morning that followed, October 11, there was an explosion below deck, in or in connection with the battery room.
In light of the accident, the Authority recommends that all shipowners with vessels that have battery installations, carry out a new risk assessment of the dangers connected to possible accumulations of explosive gases during unwanted incidents in the battery systems.
Moreover, Corvus Energy published its own recommendations concerning the incident, according to which:
- Do not sail without communication between EMS and the packs (BMS). Keeping the packs powered up will maintain this communication link. An unpowered pack can not communicate important system data (faults, warnings, temperatures and voltages) to the EMS/bridge. Ensure that current ESS parameters are showing at the EMS interface. This is a verification of the communication link.
- If a gas release, thermal runaway situation or fire in the battery room is suspected: Do not power down the battery equipment.
The Authority has launched an investigation to determine what caused the explosion.
See also:
- Lessons learned: Keep batteries in good condition to avoid overheating
- Fire in yacht’s garage linked to lithium-ion batteries
