Periodic Reporting for period 2 - LASH FIRE (Legislative Assessment for Safety Hazards of Fire and Innovations in Ro-ro ship Environment)
Berichtszeitraum: 2021-03-01 bis 2022-08-31
A large number of significant ro-ro ship fires in recent years, and lacking signs of such diminishing, call for better prevention and management of fires. The research project LASH FIRE aims to significantly reduce the occurrence of fires on ro-pax ships, ro-ro cargo ships and vehicle carriers and to provide a recognized technical basis for the revision of international IMO regulations by providing cost-effective solutions across the entire fire protection chain.
-The strategic objective of LASH FIRE is: “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 are the basis of 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)
-The strategic objective of LASH FIRE is: “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 are the basis of 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)
-- Work package 3: Cooperation and Communication
LASH FIRE uses a broad range of dedicated channels to collect and communicate information about the project, such as the project website, social media channels, conferences and organisanized public webinars. Two maritime advisory groups are founded, one with flag states and authorities, the second consisting of ship operators. The groups provide input regarding the demand for and feasibility of the developed solution on fire safety.
-- Work package 4: Formal Safety Assessment
The project will provide a technical basis for legislative assessment by evaluation in line with Formal Safety Assessment (FSA) procedure of at least 15 proposals of risk control meassures, based on operational and technical solutions developed in the project.
For this purpose a comprehensive database on fires in ro-ro spaces and ro-ro ships, and six holistic risk assessment model, covering the three ship types and existing and new ships, are developeded. The risk reduction quantification of the at least 15 solutions has started and will be finalized during the next period.
-- Work package 5: Ship Integration
The ship integration work package has provided input to the Development and Demonstration work packages on the operative and yard conditions to the challenges addressed. The work to evaluate and demonstrate ship integration feasibility and make cost estimations of developed operational and technical risk control measures, for all types of ro-ro ships and all types of ro-ro spaces, continues. For this purpose, three generic ships are selected, based on the arrangement of ro-ro cargo spaces and passenger and cargo capacity in comparison to statistical data and trends of the world fleet, representing the three ship types: ro-ro passenger ship (Stena Flavia), ro-ro cargo ship (Magnolia Seaways, DFDS) and vehicle carrier ship (Torrens, Wallenius & Wilhelmsen).
-- Development and Demonstration work packages
In the LASH FIRE project, there are 20 “Actions”, each with tasks addressing a specific ro-ro ship fire safety challenge. Solutions adressing theses challenges for improving fire safety are developed and testing and demonstrations of the solutions are taking place as important steps to validate the solutions. The 20 actions are:
- Work package 6: Effective Manual Operations:
- Action 6-A Manual screening of cargo fire hazards & effective fire patrols
- Action 6-B Quick manual fire confirmation and localization
- Action 6-C Effective first response
- Action 6-D Effective and efficient manual firefighting
- Work package 7: Inherently Safe Design
- Action 7-A Improved fire detection system interface design
- Action 7-B Efficient extinguishing system activation and inherently safe design.
- Action 7-C Firefighting resource management centre
- Work package 8: Ignition Prevention
- Action 8-A Automatic screening and management of cargo fire hazards
- Action 8-B Guidelines and solutions for safe electrical connections
- Action 8-C: Fire requirements for new ro-ro space materials
- Work package 9: Detection
- Action 9-A Detection on weather deck
- Action 9-B Detection in closed and open ro-ro spaces
- Action 9-C Technologies for visual fire confirmation and localization
- Work package 10: Extinguishment
- Action 10-A Local application fire-extinguishing systems
- Action 10-B Weather deck fixed fire-extinguishing systems
- Action 10-C Updated performance of alternative fixed fire-fighting systems
- Work package 11: Containment
- Action 11-A Division of ro-ro spaces.
- Action 11-B Ensuring safe evacuation.
- Action 11-C Safe design with ro-ro space openings.
- Action 11-D Ro-ro space ventilation and smoke extraction.
LASH FIRE uses a broad range of dedicated channels to collect and communicate information about the project, such as the project website, social media channels, conferences and organisanized public webinars. Two maritime advisory groups are founded, one with flag states and authorities, the second consisting of ship operators. The groups provide input regarding the demand for and feasibility of the developed solution on fire safety.
-- Work package 4: Formal Safety Assessment
The project will provide a technical basis for legislative assessment by evaluation in line with Formal Safety Assessment (FSA) procedure of at least 15 proposals of risk control meassures, based on operational and technical solutions developed in the project.
For this purpose a comprehensive database on fires in ro-ro spaces and ro-ro ships, and six holistic risk assessment model, covering the three ship types and existing and new ships, are developeded. The risk reduction quantification of the at least 15 solutions has started and will be finalized during the next period.
-- Work package 5: Ship Integration
The ship integration work package has provided input to the Development and Demonstration work packages on the operative and yard conditions to the challenges addressed. The work to evaluate and demonstrate ship integration feasibility and make cost estimations of developed operational and technical risk control measures, for all types of ro-ro ships and all types of ro-ro spaces, continues. For this purpose, three generic ships are selected, based on the arrangement of ro-ro cargo spaces and passenger and cargo capacity in comparison to statistical data and trends of the world fleet, representing the three ship types: ro-ro passenger ship (Stena Flavia), ro-ro cargo ship (Magnolia Seaways, DFDS) and vehicle carrier ship (Torrens, Wallenius & Wilhelmsen).
-- Development and Demonstration work packages
In the LASH FIRE project, there are 20 “Actions”, each with tasks addressing a specific ro-ro ship fire safety challenge. Solutions adressing theses challenges for improving fire safety are developed and testing and demonstrations of the solutions are taking place as important steps to validate the solutions. The 20 actions are:
- Work package 6: Effective Manual Operations:
- Action 6-A Manual screening of cargo fire hazards & effective fire patrols
- Action 6-B Quick manual fire confirmation and localization
- Action 6-C Effective first response
- Action 6-D Effective and efficient manual firefighting
- Work package 7: Inherently Safe Design
- Action 7-A Improved fire detection system interface design
- Action 7-B Efficient extinguishing system activation and inherently safe design.
- Action 7-C Firefighting resource management centre
- Work package 8: Ignition Prevention
- Action 8-A Automatic screening and management of cargo fire hazards
- Action 8-B Guidelines and solutions for safe electrical connections
- Action 8-C: Fire requirements for new ro-ro space materials
- Work package 9: Detection
- Action 9-A Detection on weather deck
- Action 9-B Detection in closed and open ro-ro spaces
- Action 9-C Technologies for visual fire confirmation and localization
- Work package 10: Extinguishment
- Action 10-A Local application fire-extinguishing systems
- Action 10-B Weather deck fixed fire-extinguishing systems
- Action 10-C Updated performance of alternative fixed fire-fighting systems
- Work package 11: Containment
- Action 11-A Division of ro-ro spaces.
- Action 11-B Ensuring safe evacuation.
- Action 11-C Safe design with ro-ro space openings.
- Action 11-D Ro-ro space ventilation and smoke extraction.
To develop new solutions to the addressed problems, the development will need to reach beyond state-of-the-art in each area. It is important that such innovative solutions also are in balance with cost, crew operations and effects on the environment, in order to be considered for regulatory amendments.
The LASH FIRE project will bring benefits for the society in terms of:
- Technological and business impact: Enhance innovation capacity and create new market opportunities by developing new solutions, e.g. adapting land-based systems to shipboard applications, thus opening up for higher market uptake of similar technologies.
- Industrial impact: Strengthen 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: Address issues related to climate change or the environment by implementation of a freely available lifecycle assessment (LCA)-based tool for use by the ro-ro and ro-pax shipping industry to screen and compare the potential environmental impacts of such fire safety systems.
- Policy impact: Improved inter-sectoral cooperation by establishment of two groups of stake holders (operators and Flag States) and proposals for at least four IMO regulatory changes.
- Academic impact: 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: Wider awareness towards the importance of safety needs in the maritime sector by LASH FIRE dissemination activities, including advisory groups, impact at IMO and 3 public conferences.
The LASH FIRE project will bring benefits for the society in terms of:
- Technological and business impact: Enhance innovation capacity and create new market opportunities by developing new solutions, e.g. adapting land-based systems to shipboard applications, thus opening up for higher market uptake of similar technologies.
- Industrial impact: Strengthen 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: Address issues related to climate change or the environment by implementation of a freely available lifecycle assessment (LCA)-based tool for use by the ro-ro and ro-pax shipping industry to screen and compare the potential environmental impacts of such fire safety systems.
- Policy impact: Improved inter-sectoral cooperation by establishment of two groups of stake holders (operators and Flag States) and proposals for at least four IMO regulatory changes.
- Academic impact: 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: Wider awareness towards the importance of safety needs in the maritime sector by LASH FIRE dissemination activities, including advisory groups, impact at IMO and 3 public conferences.