Periodic Reporting for period 3 - LASH FIRE (Legislative Assessment for Safety Hazards of Fire and Innovations in Ro-ro ship Environment)
Berichtszeitraum: 2022-09-01 bis 2023-08-31
A large number of significant fires in recent years on ships carrying vehicles, so called ro-ro ships, call for better prevention and management of such fires. The research project LASH FIRE aimed to significantly reduce the risk of fire on all types of ro-ro ships (ro-ro passenger ships, ro-ro cargo ships and vehicle carriers) and to provide a technical basis for the revision of international maritime regulations. This was done by assessing the risk reduction and cost of safety measures across the entire fire protection chain.
-The strategic objective of LASH FIRE was “To provide a recognized technical basis for the revision of international IMO regulations, which greatly enhances fire prevention and ensures independent management of fires on ro-ro ships in current and future fire safety challenges”. It requires new and innovative solutions for fire safety on ro-ro ships which are experimentally demonstrated and validated regarding feasibility and performance, assessed regarding risk reduction and economic properties, as well as international cooperation to facilitate common positions. These three elements were the basis for four specific objectives:
- Objective 1: “LASH FIRE will strengthen the independent fire protection of ro-ro ships by developing and validating effective operative and design solutions addressing current and future challenges in all stages of a fire” (Addressed in WP06-11)
-Objective 2: “LASH FIRE will evaluate and demonstrate ship integration feasibility and cost of developed operational and design risk control measures for all types of ro-ro ships and all types of ro-ro spaces” (Addressed in WP05)
- Objective 3: “LASH FIRE will provide a technical basis for future revisions of regulations by assessing risk reduction and economic properties of solutions.” (Addressed in WP04)
-Objective 4: “LASH FIRE will propose new regulations and guidelines founded on common positions by drawing upon global research and experience and by facilitating international cooperation” (Addressed in WP03)
By reducing the risk of fire on all types of ro-ro ships, while addressing both historic events and future challenges, the safety will be improved for the crew members and passengers onboard. Costs to society will also be lowered by reducing the risk of damaged ships and cargo, and globally it will also reduce emissions to the environment.
-The strategic objective of LASH FIRE was “To provide a recognized technical basis for the revision of international IMO regulations, which greatly enhances fire prevention and ensures independent management of fires on ro-ro ships in current and future fire safety challenges”. It requires new and innovative solutions for fire safety on ro-ro ships which are experimentally demonstrated and validated regarding feasibility and performance, assessed regarding risk reduction and economic properties, as well as international cooperation to facilitate common positions. These three elements were the basis for four specific objectives:
- Objective 1: “LASH FIRE will strengthen the independent fire protection of ro-ro ships by developing and validating effective operative and design solutions addressing current and future challenges in all stages of a fire” (Addressed in WP06-11)
-Objective 2: “LASH FIRE will evaluate and demonstrate ship integration feasibility and cost of developed operational and design risk control measures for all types of ro-ro ships and all types of ro-ro spaces” (Addressed in WP05)
- Objective 3: “LASH FIRE will provide a technical basis for future revisions of regulations by assessing risk reduction and economic properties of solutions.” (Addressed in WP04)
-Objective 4: “LASH FIRE will propose new regulations and guidelines founded on common positions by drawing upon global research and experience and by facilitating international cooperation” (Addressed in WP03)
By reducing the risk of fire on all types of ro-ro ships, while addressing both historic events and future challenges, the safety will be improved for the crew members and passengers onboard. Costs to society will also be lowered by reducing the risk of damaged ships and cargo, and globally it will also reduce emissions to the environment.
The LASH FIRE project has developed and assessed fire safety measures for ro-ro ships and proposed cost-effective changes to international regulations. The development of safety measures was carried out in six so called “Development and Demonstration” work packages. They focused on the four phases of fire protection: ignition prevention, detection, extinguishment and containment, as well as on manual operations and safe design. Each work package addressed 3-4 fire safety challenges, identified from historic events and future changes, totalling 20 different challenges tackled. During the project, solutions to the challenges were developed, evaluated, and validated through testing and demonstrations.
Demonstration platforms and input regarding the operative and technical conditions to the challenges and solutions were provided by operators and yard representatives in the project. They provided input concerning ship integration feasibility, performance and not least input on the cost for implementing the solutions on all types of ro-ro ships and in all types of ro-ro spaces. For this purpose, three generic ships were selected, based on the arrangement of ro-ro cargo spaces as well as passenger and cargo capacity in comparison to statistical data and trends of the world fleet. The three ships representing the different types of ro-ro ships were the ro-ro passenger ship Stena Flavia, the ro-ro cargo ship Magnolia Seaways (DFDS) and the vehicle carrier Torrens (Wallenius & Wilhelmsen).
Two maritime advisory groups were founded, one consisting of authorities and flag states, the second consisting of ship operators. The groups provided input regarding the demand for and feasibility of the developed solutions. They were also heavily involved in the selection and definition of solutions to be fully assessed regarding cost effectiveness.
The cost-effectiveness assessment was conducted according to the so called Formal Safey Assessment procedure established by the International Maritime Organization for evaluation of new regulations. This provided a recognized technical basis for the operational and technical solutions developed, and for the connected regulatory amendment proposals delivered, ready to be used by IMO stakeholders. The work also included development of a comprehensive database on fires in ro-ro spaces and ro-ro ships, a holistic risk assessment model, tools for consequence quantification of fires originating in ro-ro spaces and a tool for cost evaluation.
LASH FIRE used a broad range of dedicated channels to collect and communicate information about ro-ro ship fire safety, such as the project website and public webinars. The project organized three public conferences on fire safety at sea (CFIS), which gained large audiences. LASH FIRE also directly supported IMO stakeholders in the parallel ongoing agenda item to “Review SOLAS chapter II-2 and associated codes to minimize the incidence and consequences of fires in ro-ro spaces and special category spaces of new and existing ro-ro passenger ships”. LASH FIRE will continue to have an impact for many years to come. All the results have been made public to be used by any operator, IMO stakeholder or other part of society.
Demonstration platforms and input regarding the operative and technical conditions to the challenges and solutions were provided by operators and yard representatives in the project. They provided input concerning ship integration feasibility, performance and not least input on the cost for implementing the solutions on all types of ro-ro ships and in all types of ro-ro spaces. For this purpose, three generic ships were selected, based on the arrangement of ro-ro cargo spaces as well as passenger and cargo capacity in comparison to statistical data and trends of the world fleet. The three ships representing the different types of ro-ro ships were the ro-ro passenger ship Stena Flavia, the ro-ro cargo ship Magnolia Seaways (DFDS) and the vehicle carrier Torrens (Wallenius & Wilhelmsen).
Two maritime advisory groups were founded, one consisting of authorities and flag states, the second consisting of ship operators. The groups provided input regarding the demand for and feasibility of the developed solutions. They were also heavily involved in the selection and definition of solutions to be fully assessed regarding cost effectiveness.
The cost-effectiveness assessment was conducted according to the so called Formal Safey Assessment procedure established by the International Maritime Organization for evaluation of new regulations. This provided a recognized technical basis for the operational and technical solutions developed, and for the connected regulatory amendment proposals delivered, ready to be used by IMO stakeholders. The work also included development of a comprehensive database on fires in ro-ro spaces and ro-ro ships, a holistic risk assessment model, tools for consequence quantification of fires originating in ro-ro spaces and a tool for cost evaluation.
LASH FIRE used a broad range of dedicated channels to collect and communicate information about ro-ro ship fire safety, such as the project website and public webinars. The project organized three public conferences on fire safety at sea (CFIS), which gained large audiences. LASH FIRE also directly supported IMO stakeholders in the parallel ongoing agenda item to “Review SOLAS chapter II-2 and associated codes to minimize the incidence and consequences of fires in ro-ro spaces and special category spaces of new and existing ro-ro passenger ships”. LASH FIRE will continue to have an impact for many years to come. All the results have been made public to be used by any operator, IMO stakeholder or other part of society.
To develop new solutions to ro-ro ship fire safety, the project had to reach beyond state-of-the-art in many areas. The solutions also had to be in balance with cost, crew operations and effects on the environment, in order to be considered for regulatory amendments.
The LASH FIRE project has brought benefits for the society in several areas:
- Technological and business impact: LASH FIRE has enhanced innovation capacity and created new market opportunities by developing new solutions, e.g. by adapting land-based systems to shipboard applications, thus opening up for higher market uptake.
- Industrial impact: LASH FIRE has strengthened competitiveness and growth of companies by providing proposals of IMO regulatory changes, hence increasing the demand for industrial innovation on ro-ro ships.
- Environmental impact: LASH FIRE has addressed issues related to climate change and pollution by implementation of a freely available lifecycle assessment (LCA) tool, to screen and compare the potential environmental impacts of fire safety systems.
- Policy impact: LASH FIRE has improved inter-sectoral cooperation by establishment of two groups of stake holders (operators and Flag States) and made proposals for 20 IMO regulatory changes. Furthermore, LASH FIRE was involved in the development of several regulatory amendments which have now been finalized.
- Academic impact: LASH FIRE has enhanced transfer of knowledge among shipping stakeholders (industry, research, etc.) by engagement in dialogue regarding fire safety during LASH FIRE workshops/seminars.
- Public and industrial impact: LASH FIRE has widened the awareness towards the importance of safety needs by dissemination activities, including advisory groups, involvement at IMO, webinars and three public conferences.
The LASH FIRE project has brought benefits for the society in several areas:
- Technological and business impact: LASH FIRE has enhanced innovation capacity and created new market opportunities by developing new solutions, e.g. by adapting land-based systems to shipboard applications, thus opening up for higher market uptake.
- Industrial impact: LASH FIRE has strengthened competitiveness and growth of companies by providing proposals of IMO regulatory changes, hence increasing the demand for industrial innovation on ro-ro ships.
- Environmental impact: LASH FIRE has addressed issues related to climate change and pollution by implementation of a freely available lifecycle assessment (LCA) tool, to screen and compare the potential environmental impacts of fire safety systems.
- Policy impact: LASH FIRE has improved inter-sectoral cooperation by establishment of two groups of stake holders (operators and Flag States) and made proposals for 20 IMO regulatory changes. Furthermore, LASH FIRE was involved in the development of several regulatory amendments which have now been finalized.
- Academic impact: LASH FIRE has enhanced transfer of knowledge among shipping stakeholders (industry, research, etc.) by engagement in dialogue regarding fire safety during LASH FIRE workshops/seminars.
- Public and industrial impact: LASH FIRE has widened the awareness towards the importance of safety needs by dissemination activities, including advisory groups, involvement at IMO, webinars and three public conferences.