While there has been a lot of attention to the dangers of transporting battery-powered vehicles and lithium-ion batteries and devices as cargo, the National Transportation Safety Board is now warning crews about the dangers of unsupervised charging of lithium-ion batteries. The NTSB working with the U.S. Coast Guard and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) determined that a fire that destroyed the bridge of a tanker docked in Louisiana last year was caused by a lithium-ion battery-powered radio that exploded while charging on an unattended bridge.

The investigation narrowed the case of the fire aboard the oil tanker S Trust (106,000 dwt) to the batteries and specifically the batteries for a handheld radio that had been left in a charger. Docked at the Genesis Port Allen Terminal, the vessel was offloading and the bridge was unattended when the fire began. By the time the captain became aware of the fire, it had already spread and ultimately destroyed the navigation, communication, and alarm systems. They estimate the damage at $3 million.

The S Trust, registered in Liberia and with a crew of 23, docked at the terminal on November 11, 2022, and was offloading high-sulfur fuel oil. At about 1530 on November 13, the master of the vessel working in his office one deck below the bridge noticed that the closed-circuit camera feed from the bridge was not showing and went to investigate. It was only then that they discovered a fire on the bridge. The report notes that as a control station, SOLAS does not require the bridge to have fire or smoke detectors.

The master recounted to the investigators that he believed the fire was coming from the communications table but the smoke was too thick for him to enter the bridge. He ordered the fuel operations suspended and electric power turned off to the bridge. Fire crews fought the fire from both bridge wings and at 1550 the fire was declared out. No one was injured and the damage was contained to the bridge.

 

Sequence of images captured from the bridge camera shows the explosion and a burning object landing on the deck (NTSB)

 

The investigators reviewed video footage from the bridge and determined at 1527 there was an orange flash followed by smoke coming from the communications table. The smoke quickly increased and two minutes later there was a second orange flash and an object flew from the area landing on the deck and continuing to burn. By 1536, nine minutes after the first flash, ash and the heat from the fire prevented further images from the camera on the bridge.

The subsequent investigation found the ship had 20 UHF handheld radios, including 14 batteries with lithium-ion cells and another 13 with nickel-metal hydride cells. There were also 16 chargers on the ship. Shifting the debris, investigators found the remains of a lithium-ion battery in a charger but its two cells were not found. The analysis rules out the other electronic devices or batteries as the cause of the fire.

NTSB in its report concludes a thermal runaway occurred in the cells which is an incident where the cells overheat and combust. The cells might have been damaged during use, defective, or not certified. Overcharging can also be a cause of the event which is a chemical reaction fire that they warn can reach 1,100 degrees F.

The recommendations include avoiding unsupervised charging, keeping the batteries and chargers away from heat sources, and disposing of damaged batteries. The report states that should a lithium-ion battery fire occur, crews can attempt to extinguish the fire with water, foam, CO2, or other dry chemical or powdered agents, or allow the pack to burn in a controlled manner. They however warn that nearby cells may also experience thermal runaway.

The Georgia Ports Authority highlights the strong growth in Ro-Ro traffic at the port of Brunswick, Gerogia as it works to realize the opportunities due to the strong growth in the automotive sector. Through their investments in infrastructure, they look to make Brunswick the top U.S. auto and Ro-Ro port.

Reviewing the state of the ports, GPA President and CEO Griff Lynch highlighted volumes that are already expanding at a strong rate in fiscal 2023 and which they expect to accelerate based on the strength of the automotive sector. In fiscal year 2023, the Colonel’s Island Terminal in Brunswick grew Ro-Ro volumes by 18 percent, to more than 705,000 units of autos and heavy machinery, moving both into and out of the port. This included 610 vessel calls, an increase of 11 percent, with 495 of those specifically at the Colonel’s Island terminal in Brunswick. They also handled approximately 18,500 units in Savannah during the year, volume that will be shifting to Brunswick as it becomes the sole Ro-Ro port and Savannah focuses on containers.

The GPA reported that three-quarters of the volume was imports which facilities, such as areas for pre-delivery inspections, set up specifically to support the import trade. The port also features a new fumigation facility onsite which is the largest facility of its size for autos and machinery. They note this is critical for exports as Australia and New Zealand are requiring fumigation for their imports.

As demand has grown in the automotive sector, and specifically with more manufacturing and OEMs moving production to Mexico, they highlight Georgia is supporting the industry with two services. CMA CGM started a new short-sea service carrying vehicles from Mexico to Brunswick in July and the Gold Star shipping line is starting a similar service this month.

This has helped volume in Brunswick, which was already growing at a strong pace, to see a sharp increase in September.  The Colonel’s Island Terminal handled 70,645 Ro-Ro units. Up 61 percent year-over-year.

“The automotive sector has been especially strong and consumer demand is driving this trend,” notes Lynch. “To accommodate anticipated market demand, GPA has initiated an aggressive infrastructure plan, strengthening Colonel’s Island for auto and machinery processing.”

The terminal currently is composed of 1,700 acres with four on-site auto processors while they highlight there are 264 acres of additional space available. Construction was recently completed on 350,000 square feet of near-dock warehousing that serves auto and machinery processing on the north side of Colonel’s Island Terminal. Three additional buildings representing 290,000 square feet and 122 acres of Roll-on/Roll-off cargo storage space are under construction on the south side of the island.

GPA has also won Federal approval for a fourth Ro-Ro berth at Colonel’s Island, to enable more vessel calls. Currently, in the engineering phase, this project will more efficiently accommodate vessels that can carry up to 7,000 vehicles. Other planned improvements include widening the channel and expanding the turning basin at Colonel’s Island to more efficiently handle large vessels as well as increasing rail capacity.

“Our investments in infrastructure capacity are well-timed to support the growing business in our Brunswick gateway,” concludes Lynch. The GPA is confident that with these steps Brunswick is on track to be the top U.S. Ro-Ro port.

Almost a year after the EU and Namibia signed an MoU on developing supply chains for rare earth metals and green hydrogen, the two partners have announced the next steps with concrete actions to advance their energy transition partnership.

On the sidelines of the EU- Namibia Business Forum held this week in Brussels, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen endorsed a 2023-2025 roadmap, which will act as a guide in supporting Namibia’s fledgling renewable energy industry.

During the period, the EU will make an investment of over one billion euros and support an upcoming study for the development of the Port of Walvis Bay into an industrial and logistics hub. In an interview back in August, Namibian Ports Authority (Namport) CEO Andrew Kanime projected that the port expansion works in the country needed around $2.1 billion to reach the desired capacity for energy exports. Walvis Bay would take up much of the expansion efforts.

In addition, the EU will also work with the Port of Antwerp and Bruges International to develop a master plan, which covers multimodal infrastructure, spatial planning and market organization for the Port of Walvis Bay. A key feature of this deal is the development of the Walvis Bay-Maputo Corridor, a coast-to-coast corridor linking the Atlantic to the Western Indian Ocean. The route is critical in serving the Southern-Central Africa copper belt. With copper increasingly in high demand from renewable energy industries, efficiency in shipment of the metal is now a matter of great interest.

The Dutch government has also commissioned a feasibility study for the expansion of the Lüderitz port, located 250 nautical miles south of the Port of Walvis Bay.

“The EU needs to secure a sustainable supply of raw materials, especially those critical in delivering the green and clean energy objectives. As part of the Action Plan on Critical Raw Materials, the Commission is already building partnerships with resource-rich third countries,” said EC in a statement.

In June, Namibia banned export of unprocessed lithium and rare earth metals. Industry stakeholders have pointed out that such a directive would be beneficial if Namibia had the necessary industrial and logistical capacity.

In a meeting for mining executives this week in Namibia, Joe Walsh, the managing director of lithium processing company Lepidico said his firm will be processing battery-grade lithium at its plant to be built in Abu Dhabi, ostensibly because of the city’s proximity to industrial and logistics hub. Lepidico has an ongoing lithium mining project in the Karibib region of Namibia.

“Abu Dhabi offers immediate logistical efficiencies, an established industrial park with available shared infrastructure. This is a very good example of efficient and effective infrastructure that would be a huge benefit if it was installed, say, at Walvis Bay in Namibia,” Walsh elaborated.

Indeed, the EU-Namibia partnership is essential in developing the large-scale infrastructure projects needed to support local metals processing and export. In return, Namibia is poised to supply the EU bloc with green hydrogen and minerals needed for clean energy technologies.

Southern California’s ports are continuing to build back their volumes from the low point of early 2023 while reporting that they expect the increases to continue into the end of the year based on the strength of the American consumer. Both Los Angeles and Long Beach are beginning to string together a series of months of gains year-over-year with improvements coming in both imports and exports.

Despite holidays in Asia and the carriers’ continued use of blank sailings to manage capacity both ports called September a good month, while Long Beach was also able to achieve its busiest September on record. At the end of nine months, both ports’ volume year-to-date however remains down in the range of 20 percent versus 2022.

At Long Beach with over 829,000 TEU moving through the port, it was the third consecutive month of gains as well as the highest monthly total since June 2022. Citing the strength of consumer spending and the new labor contract, they reported a nearly 12 percent year-over-year increase as well as the port’s first monthly year-over-year cargo increase in 14 months. Long Beach’s strength was driven by a better than 19 percent increase in import volumes while exports were down by more than 10 percent.

The neighboring Port of Los Angeles however showed the unusual separation of the two neighboring ports as it experienced an expected nearly 10 percent decline in month-over-month volumes. Los Angeles however was still able to post a five percent gain over 2022 and its second consecutive month of year-over-year gains.

Imports came back strongly for Los Angeles versus 2022 up 14 percent, which the port highlights as the biggest year-over-year gain increase in over two years. Exports were also up for the fourth consecutive month and the fifth month over 100,000 TEUs. Driven by strong increases in exports of recyclables, animal feed, and vehicle parts, the Port of Los Angeles handled 55 percent more exports than a year earlier.  They also pointed out that declines in empty volumes were making it easier for American exporters to ship their goods out of the port.

While saying that they expected the muted peak season to continue, both ports are projecting improvements through the last quarter of 2023. “We look forward to a moderate rebound in cargo volume through the end of the year,” said Port of Long Beach CEO Mario Cordero.

The Port of Los Angeles expects flat volumes for October but increases in both November and December. While they are down 19 percent through nine months, Gene Seroka, Executive Director for the Port of Los Angeles, forecasts they will end the year down 13 percent versus 2022. He notes that they are currently 12 percent below their five-year running average for the port while projecting Los Angeles will handle a total of 8.6 million TEU in 2023 down from the peak of nearly 10.7 million in 2021. He notes that the port has the capacity and the ability to scale up to meet demand.

Both ports look to continue to rebuild market share after a year of uncertainty while the longshore workers were without a contract. Analysts point out the Southern California ports could also benefit from the current problems and delays at the Panama Canal, which could encourage shippers to use the California ports instead of sending cargo to East Coast and Gulf Coast ports.

On Monday, the government of Russia shut down border crossing access for Ukrainian citizens, tightening security after a series of covert attacks on Russian soil. The closure is expected, but it may have effects on shipping because of the large number of Ukrainian seafarers employed in international trade, according to the American Club.

The P&I club reports that Ukrainian seafarers will not be able to enter Russia through Russian seaports, putting an end to crew changes for these individuals until after the ship leaves Russia.

Even if a foreign vessel has no plans to carry out a crew change in Russia, but merely has Ukrainian crew aboard when it calls at a Russian port, there could be “significant difficulties” for the operator under the new rules, the club warned.

The Russian government’s formal notice restricts Ukrainian citizens to entering at two points only: the Moscow airport, or a road crossing at the Latvian border. Though this appears comprehensive, it is unclear whether it will be evenly applied across all Russian seaports. The insurer has only received advice related to the restriction for Russian ports in the Black Sea region – like Novorossiysk, Taman, Tuapse and Kavkaz. These ports will be prohibiting shore leave and crew changes for Ukrainian crewmembers.

“Members with Ukrainian citizens aboard their vessels that have plans to call at any Russian Federation ports are recommended to check and confirm the security policy at that port of call,” American Club advised.

The Ukrainian military and intelligence services have had considerable success in targeting Russian Navy assets in the Black Sea, and port access is tightly controlled. At Sevastopol and Novorossiysk, the harbors are protected not just by boat patrols and surveillance, but by multiple layers of movable net barriers enclosing the harbor entrance.