Danger from container fires

Fires are one of the most frequent and dangerous causes of accidents in the shipping industry - and the most spectacular in recent times have been fires on container ships. Just recently, the ZIM CHARLESTON (8,586 TEU) was hit so hard that the ship had to return to Colombo. Around 300 boxes were destroyed or damaged by the fire. According to insurers, a major fire on board is said to occur on average every two months. As far as container ships are concerned, incorrect information about the contents or incorrect loading of the boxes are the most common causes of fire. It becomes particularly tricky when dangerous goods are being transported, which is the case for a good ten per cent of containers transported worldwide.

The Danish shipping giant Maersk, which has been repeatedly damaged by fires on its container ships, some of them extremely serious, has responded to this and has now started to equip all of its container ships with the HydroPen system from the Danish manufacturer Viking. HydroPen has been specially developed for direct firefighting in stacked containers on board ships. The system is operated solely by water pressure via a fire hose attached to the deck, onto which a nozzle is placed. The water pressure activates a turbine that drives the HydroPen drilling unit. This penetrates the container door or wall and can then inject water, foam or CO2 into the container to fight the fire directly at the source. With a telescopic device, HydroPen can also be used in higher container positions.