Fire Protection News

Johnson Controls International (JCI) and Denmark-based VIKING Life-Saving Equipment have signed a global agreement to provide coordinated fire safety service solutions for the maritime and offshore industries.As part of the partnership, VIKING has been appointed as the globally approved, trained, and certified service provider for all marine and navy firefighting systems and equipment supplied by JCI.JCI’s Marine and Navy division is a major global manufacturer of firefighting systems…

Survival technology specialist Survitec has launched its next-generation high-expansion foam fire suppression system, designed to deliver higher foam output at lower operating pressures while reducing both installation and through-life costs for shipyards and shipowners.The key breakthrough lies in a redesigned generator that produces greater volumes of foam at significantly lower feed pressures. Traditionally, high pressure has been a limiting factor in foam system performance…

As maritime industries accelerate toward electrification, the U.S. Coast Guard Research and Development Center (RDC) has issued a warning: lithium-ion batteries—the same technology powering the global shift to hybrid and all-electric vessels—pose a unique and evolving threat when things go wrong. The April 2025 white paper, Lithium Battery Fire Hazards in the Maritime Environment, lays out the risks, firefighting challenges, and post-incident dangers associated with lithium battery fires at sea…

Committed to minimizing such risks and creating a safe and seamless shipping experience for its customers, Emirates Shipping Line (ESL) has joined the World Shipping Council’s (WSC) recently launched Cargo Safety Program.The occurrence of ship fires continues on an upward trend, calling for collective action across the maritime shipping industry, to safeguard crews, cargo, vessels, and the marine ecosystem.Combining AI-powered screening technology and standardized inspection methodologies…

Lloyd’s Register (LR) has launched Fire (C, Risk), a new risk-based notation developed to enhance the assessment of fire safety arrangements on board container ships. The notation is accompanied by guidance to support shipowners, designers, and operators in selecting appropriate, best-practice mitigations based on the specific fire risk profile of a vessel. The new notation, introduced in the July 2025 update to LR’s Rules and Regulations for the Classification of Ships, is the first of its kind to apply the LR ShipRight Risk Based Certification (RBC) methodology to container ship fire safety.

Silver Ships recently delivered an Explorer 32 Fire Boat variant to the Fort Walton Beach Fire Department in Fort Walton Beach, Florida.The Fort Walton Beach Fire Department provides fire protection, emergency medical advanced life support, hazardous materials mitigation and technical rescue to residents and visitors of the busy coastal city.The Silver Ships vessel is equipped to handle all fire protection and medical support needs on the water. The Explorer 32 is outfitted with twin 300 HP Suzuki outboards with an engine protection and crash guard.

On June 20, NYK arranged an inspection of one of its car carriers for representatives from the Tokyo Fire Department, Yokohama City Fire Bureau, and local cargo-handling companies to examine the car carrier's structure and firefighting equipment, as well as discuss fire-response procedures. The event was attended by over 40 participants.In recent years, there has been a worldwide increase in fire accidents involving car carriers. In response, NYK is strengthening fire-prevention measures by establishing transportation guidelines that accommodate next-generation vehicles (e.g.…

As EV-related fires continue to challenge the maritime industry, with incidents like the Morning Midas blaze in the North Pacific, operators are seeking more effective solutions. A new brine-based firefighting system, developed by Skansi Offshore in close cooperation with KNUD E. HANSEN, now offers a simple, robust and environmentally responsible answer.The system is operational aboard Norrøna, sailing the world’s longest RoPAX route, and is scheduled for installation on two new RoRo vessels under construction.Unlike traditional fire suppression methods…

Survitec, a leader in critical Survival Technology solutions, is calling on shipowners, ship managers, and shipyards to prepare for a significant change to international fire protection regulations. Starting January 1, 2026, fixed water monitors will be required on the weather decks of RORO and ROPAX ships under amendments to SOLAS Chapter II-2 and the FSS Code, approved by the IMO’s 107th MSC session. The decision follows an increasing number of serious fire incidents involving vehicle cargo…

The Coast Guard has identified a recurring safety concern involving fixed gas fire extinguishing systems on vessels. In multiple cases, safety pins were left in the service or maintenance position after system servicing by certified technicians, rendering the system incapable of activating during an emergency.Typically, there are two pins on the activation head of most fixed gas fire extinguishing systems.One is a safety pin, as mentioned above, which prevents inadvertent discharge during transpor tor maintenance and which must be removed for the system to properly function.

The US Coast Guard’s Office of Commercial Vessel Compliance has released the U.S. Port State Control Annual Report for 2024 noting a decrease in detention rate due to fire safety issues.The annual detention rate decreased from 1.22 to 0.94%.Fire Safety: For the fourth straight year fire safety deficiencies lead all deficiency categories. Oil accumulation in the engine room once again led the deficiency total, 18 deficiencies. However, this was a significant reduction from last year’s total of 31 deficiencies.

The Coast Guard recently investigated an engine room fire on board an inspected towing vessel which led to the discovery of issues with the  maintenance and installation of fire detection systems on board multiple towing vessels. During the investigation, several towing vessels were discovered to have defective heat detectors installed in their engine rooms. These detectors had been recalled by the manufacturer in 2019 for failure to activate within their listed temperature range.

Two recent marine casualties on commercial fishing vessels (CFVs) highlighted hazardous stowage conditions that rendered onboard lifesaving equipment ineffective. During the first incident, a 41-foot CFV capsized and sank within two minutes after taking on water. The personal flotation devices (PFDs) were not stored in an easily accessible location, preventing the crew from retrieving them before exiting the vessel. Additionally, the liferaft and hydrostatic release unit were attached to an aftermarket fiberglass canopy…

Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines has selected Star International to provide safety maintenance for its three-strong fleet of smaller-sized cruise ships.The five-year partnership includes the annual inspection and repair of firefighting systems and life-saving equipment (including SOLAS inflatable lifejackets) onboard the Bolette, Borealis and Balmoral.Star’s Managing Director, Matthew Ball, commented: “Having worked with Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines on a number of occasions recently, we were delighted when they approached us for this long-term contract to help safeguard their passengers and crew.

Battery-powered Öresundslinjen ferry notches up an environmental first with turnkey conversion and decontamination of soon to be outlawed PFAS/PFOS fire-fighting foam to an environmentally friendly alternative.Scanunit has carried out what it believes is the world’s first replacement and decontamination of a PFAS/PFOS1 foam firefighting system on a commercial vessel. Aurora, a 1992-built ferry operated by EQT-owned Öresundslinjen (a subsidiary of Molslinjen), was the vessel concerned…

Dry chemical powder solutions have long safeguarded LNG and LPG cargo vessels, but as the industry embraces liquefied gases as a propulsion fuel, the unique requirements for protecting bunkering stations on a wider range of vessels, such as large cruise ships, containerships, and tankers, is becoming increasingly important. In response to the growing demand for advanced fire safety solutions to support the maritime's energy transition, Survitec has reconfigured and enhanced its Dry Chemical Powder (DCP) fire extinguishing system.

A maintenance error caused an engine room fire aboard the Endo Breeze last year, resulting in $1.2 million in damages, a National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) analysis has shown.On April 29, 2022, the Endo Breeze was transiting outbound through the Raritan Bay West Reach channel near Staten Island, New York, when oil spray from a fuel injector pump on the starboard main engine ignited off nearby hot surfaces, causing a fire. The crew of the Endo Breeze contained the spread of the fire by removing fuel and oxygen sources…

Danish company Green Instruments has entered a major agreement with Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding for the delivery of equipment that detects oil mist and vapor on ships and triggers an alarm before fires can develop and endanger the crew, ship, equipment, and environment.The shipyard now installs Green Instruments’ equipment on every new vessel built.Oil mist is formed by oil droplets floating in the air and can ignite at low temperatures. Green Instruments’ oil mist detector is designed to register the slightest traces of oil mist and vapor from hydraulic oils and bunker fuel…

Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL) will install cameras and an AI system developed by Captain's Eye in the cargo holds of most of its LNG-fueled car carriers to provide early fire detection capabilities.The devices will be installed on 10 vessels currently on order and scheduled for delivery in 2024 or later, and the company will consider retrofitting current in-service vessels with the system.The Captain's Eye AI system sends an alert to crewmembers onboard the vessel and to the onshore ship management company when it detects abnormal images captured by the cameras.

A few weeks ago I was talking to some professional fire fighters and was regaled with EV fire fighting disasters. They told me that EV caught fire all the time, that EV fires were much more dangerous than gasoline fires, and that fire trucks could not carry enough water to put out an EV fire. When I asked if they had fought any EV fires, they told me their information came from reliable sources and then asked me if I would park my Chevy Bolt in my garage. They focused on my Chevy Bolt, since it is widely regarded as a fire hazard.

The Member Authorities of the Tokyo and the Paris Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) on Port State Control will launch a joint ConcentratedInspection Campaign (CIC) on Fire Safety to create awareness among the ship’s crew and owners about the importance of fire safety measures; and  to verify that the ship complies with fire safety requirements under the relevant IMO instruments.The three-month inspection campaign will commence September 1, 2023 and end November 30, 2023, and will…

Survitec has announced a new interactive safety management solution it hopes will substantially improve onboard safety.The Safety Management and Rapid Response Technology Interface (SMARR-TI) uses a graphical monitoring interface to integrate fire detection and fire suppression systems within one system.SMARR-TI, which Survitec developed in cooperation with Turkish shipyard Tersan and Norway’s Havila Voyages, is already in operation on a pair of 15,500gt passenger ships.SMARR-TI…

The US Office of Investigations and Casualty Analysis Commandant has released US Coast Guard Marine Safety Alert 07-23, Critical Insight from Ongoing Investigations into Small Passenger Vessel Fires.The Safety Alert was prepared in response to multiple ongoing investigations being conducted by the U S Coast Guard and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) into fires onboard two certificated small passenger vessels. Both vessels sustained millions of dollars in structural damages.The alert highlights the risk of the open flames that can be used during dinner cruises.