Written by
Nick Blenkey
The thermal runaway of a cell inside a handheld radio’s lithium-ion battery led to a fireplace on the 106,000 dwt Liberian-flagged oil tanker S-Belief final yr that resulted in $3 million in injury to the vessel, the Nationwide Transportation Security Board says.
The S-Belief was docked on the Genesis Port Allen Terminal in Baton Rouge, La., on Nov. 13, 2022, when a fireplace began on the bridge. The fireplace was attributable to one of many cells in a lithium-ion battery for an ultra-high-frequency handheld radio exploding. The batteries and chargers for the hand held radios had been positioned on the communications desk on the bridge. The vessel’s crew extinguished the fireplace.
The S-Belief’s navigation, communication and alarm methods had been broken past use. No accidents had been reported.
Lithium-ion battery cell explosions are sometimes attributable to a thermal runaway, a chemical response that may trigger the cell to ignite and explode, notes NTSB. A lithium-ion battery cell can spontaneously expertise a thermal runaway if broken, shorted, overheated, faulty or overcharged.
Crews can assist to forestall thermal runaways and ensuing fires by:
- Following producers’ directions for the care and upkeep of lithium-ion batteries;
- Correctly disposing of broken batteries;
- Avoiding unsupervised charging;
- Protecting batteries and chargers away from warmth sources and flammable supplies.
“Corporations ought to be certain that lithium-ion batteries and gadgets that use lithium-ion battery packs are licensed by Underwriters Laboratory or one other acknowledged group,” the NTSB says in its report on the incident.
If a lithium-ion battery hearth happens, crews can try and extinguish the fireplace with water, foam, CO2, or different dry chemical or powdered brokers designed to be used on Class A (flamable) fires, says the NTSB. If the battery hearth can’t be extinguished, personnel ought to try to permit the pack to burn in a managed method, together with by expecting close by cells that will additionally expertise thermal runaway and extinguishing different combustibles that will catch on hearth.
- Obtain the total report HERE
