Interferry Says Vessel Differences Need Consideration in Fire Regulations

On March 9, the IMO sub-committee on Ship Systems and Equipment convened for its 12th session (SSE12), and DNV reports that the action plan to evaluate the adequacy of fire protection, detection and extinction arrangements in vehicle, special category and ro-ro spaces was revised in order to reduce the fire risk of ships carrying new-energy vehicles.

The group agreed to give priority to the development of the following guidelines before developing any draft amendments to SOLAS:

• Interim guidelines on fire safety measures for pure car and truck carriers (PCTCs)

• Interim guidelines for video monitoring and detection systems.

The work will be progressed in a Correspondence Group until SSE 13 in March 2027. Any agreed draft SOLAS amendments are expected to enter into force on January 1, 2032, at the earliest.

Ferry organization Interferry has informed its members of SSE12 outcomes, saying the most relevant issue was fires on ro-ro decks. Interferry was heavily engaged in the comprehensive amendments on fire protection for ro-ro passenger ships, adopted by the IMO in 2024. Following that work, the IMO now puts its focus on fires inside containers and on cargo decks of vehicle carriers.

While electric vehicle fires are also highly relevant for ro-ro cargo ships and ro-pax ships, a very important discussion was held by SSE12 leading into regulatory considerations; despite all having ro-ro decks, there are fundamental differences between the three types of ro-ro ships.

Interferry’s Director of Regulatory Affairs, Johan Roos, notes that: “We have historically had to spend a lot of effort making sure that ferries are not dragged into regulations that emanate from another segment’s needs. It is well established that the CO2 systems used to extinguish fires on the ro-ro deck of vehicle carriers may not be sufficient to deal with EV fires, but that is not a ro-ro deck issue. Ro-ro cargo and ro-pax ferries use drencher systems, which use large amounts of water to demonstrably deal with an EV fire on the ro-ro deck.”

Going forward, the priority of the IMO is to deal with solutions for EV fires in vehicle carriers, and if any findings from that work are relevant to ro-ro/ro-pax, Interferry will engage in another round of deliberations during 2027-2028 with a view to introducing SOLAS amendments by 2032.

One area which will need more attention is the already existing requirement for ro-pax ships where “an effective video monitoring system shall be arranged in vehicle, special category and ro-ro spaces for continuous monitoring of these spaces”, which is valid for new ro-pax ships from January 1, 2026, and existing ro-pax ships from January 1, 2028 (Resolution MSC.550(108)).

“We hear from members that it is unclear exactly how to comply with these requirements, which may lead to an excessive number of cameras having to be fitted,” says Interferry.