Every 17 days, container fires expose the dangerous goods information gap

Container ship fires are now occurring roughly every 17 days worldwide, highlighting persistent gaps in the way dangerous goods information is shared across the maritime supply chain, new analysis by Thetius and Tigris highlighted. 

As explained in the “Before the fire: Dangerous goods safety and the visibility gap” report, the biggest vulnerability in dangerous goods transport may not be the regulations themselves, but the information systems and handovers that support them.

Maritime transport of dangerous goods is governed by a well-established international regulatory framework, yet vessel fires and other incidents involving hazardous cargo remain a persistent challenge. The consequences can be severe, ranging from loss of life and environmental damage to significant financial losses and operational disruption.

The issue goes beyond whether cargo has been properly declared and handled in accordance with the rules. The critical question is whether accurate, usable information reaches the people responsible for approving, stowing, loading and managing dangerous goods and whether they receive it early enough to take action.

Key question to keep in mind:

• Why do dangerous goods incidents keep happening, and where in the process, from booking to stowage, does information most often break down?
• What is driving the scale of the problem today, including the growing, often hidden presence of lithium-ion batteries in everyday cargo?
• What does effective dangerous goods management look like, and what should an operator’s process across the full cargo lifecycle achieve?
• How should operators put better dangerous goods management into practice, including improving data quality, flagging risk earlier, automating routine checks while keeping specialists in control, and scaling through measured pilots?

The rapid growth in the transport of lithium-ion batteries is adding urgency to the issue. Batteries can be shipped inside everyday products under routine cargo descriptions, while some are transported under reduced regulatory requirements. At the same time, conditions inside containers can differ significantly from expectations.

As a result, cargo may be legally declared and stowed in a particular location, yet that position may prove unsuitable when the actual conditions inside the container are considered alongside the information provided in its safety data sheet.

The information needed to move dangerous goods safely already exists. The problem is that it sits in silos, scattered across shippers, carriers, terminals, and forwarders, each with limited visibility into what the others know, and sometimes with real incentives not to share it. Systems don’t talk to each other, and even when they could, no one is quite sure whether it is in their interest to make them. 

…said Christopher Hartnoll Chief Executive Officer, Tigris Systems.

The operational value of better dangerous goods management

Even a small reduction in the number of major fires could deliver significant savings. A serious container fire can generate hundreds of millions of dollars in costs, including salvage, additional cargo handling, repairs, waste processing and delays.

Better dangerous-goods procedures would not prevent every fire, but identifying risks earlier could help stop some incidents from occurring or reduce the scale of the resulting losses.

Improved data management should make risk information part of the process, rather than something that relies on a specialist’s memory. If a shipment is approved, rejected, queried or escalated, the organisation should be able to show what information was received and why the final decision was made.

For ports and terminals, improved visibility gives teams greater confidence in what is moving through the yard. Effective inventory management is particularly important for dangerous goods, which are often stored in designated areas and require appropriate monitoring.

In an emergency, however, having information is not enough. Crews need to be able to access it quickly and understand what action to take. Delays in obtaining critical cargo information can limit the effectiveness of an emergency response.

Rapid access to dangerous-goods information can determine which measures the crew takes, including whether firefighting can begin, whether water or foam should be used and what protective equipment is required.

Recommendations

#1 Improve data quality

Dangerous goods visibility problems often begin when information first enters the process. If cargo descriptions are vague or SDSs are missing, then problems tend to be pushed further down the chain, where they become more difficult to solve.

Booking and submission processes should be designed to prevent poor-quality data from entering the process where possible. Digital forms should guide customers to the right information and prevent essential fields from being skipped before a shipment proceeds.

#2 Make dangerous goods information usable across operational workflows

Dangerous goods information should not be trapped in emails, PDFs, scanned documents, spreadsheets, or disconnected systems where teams struggle to find and use it.

The underlying data should be searchable and linked to a specific container or cargo record. Different teams require this information at different stages, from dangerous goods approval and stowage planning to terminal operations and emergency response.

Any query, correction, rejection, escalation or conditional approval should remain attached to the shipment so that downstream teams know when the cargo has changed or requires additional attention.

#3 Flag risk earlier

Screening should use prior incidents, cargo-specific guidance, and port requirements to flag shipments that require closer review before loading.

If something looks unusual or resembles a previous problem case, teams should have enough warning to check it thoroughly and escalate it before the cargo moves further through the process.

This is especially important for cargoes that may not always fit neatly within standard dangerous goods workflows yet still pose operational risk, such as lithium batteries, charcoal and other cargoes with known incident histories.

#4 Automate routine checks while preserving expert oversight

Automation can validate structured information, identify inconsistencies and flag cargo for further review.

This would reduce time spent on repetitive document checks and allow dangerous-goods specialists to focus on complex or high-risk shipments.

Automated systems should not silently correct missing or contradictory information or allow cargo to proceed simply because all required fields have been completed. Qualified specialists need to remain involved and ultimately responsible for decisions.

#5 Pilot, measure and scale

Operators should begin with a focused problem where better information could change a real operational decision, such as a SDS review or linking dangerous-goods approval to stowage.

Pilots should be measured against clear operational outcomes, including whether risks are identified earlier, manual work and late changes fall, risk flags reach downstream teams, and operational users can access the information they need.

This is becoming more urgent, not less. Insurers are openly discussing whether to walk away from container operators. Lithium-ion batteries are proliferating, embedded in the products and packages moving through global supply chains, often mislabeled or undeclared. And as the planet warms, ships themselves are running hotter, raising the odds of an incident turning catastrophic. 

…said Hartnoll. 

source : safety4sea