Cargo fires on containerships are increasingly commonplace. Three of such accidents recently involved fatalities, and damages ranged from low figures up to $100m.

DNV is working on a possible new class notation for risk management of potential fire in cargo areas.

Container fires have received a lot of press coverage in recent years. Huge fires have caused big ships to be abandoned and lost, such as the Hanjin Pennsylvania in November 2002, and the Hyundai Fortune in 2006.

The fires are often associated with problem cargoes like calcium hypochlorite, an oxidizing agent that will self ignite under given conditions. Extinguishing such fires can be a real problem as oxygen is released by the substance when burning, making the fire self sustaining.

A common strategy for fighting cargo fires has been to isolate the stack on fire with a flooding of water to stop it from spreading, and then letting the stack burn out. The damage is normally substantial, like in the case of the CMA Djakarta. The ship had one hold completely destroyed by fire, and had to be re-built at the same cost as building a new ship.