MARITIME insurers UK P&I Club and TT Club have signed up for Safetytech Accelerator’s Cargo Fire & Loss Innovation Initiative (CFLII).
Safetytech Accelerator launched the initiative in February this year. It is a multi-year collaborative technology acceleration programme focused on reducing cargo fires and loss in maritime and its impact.
According to Safetytech Accelerator, the CFLII is supported by Anchor Partners COSCO Shipping Lines, Evergreen Line, HMM, Lloyd’s Register, Maersk, the Offen Group, ONE and Seaspan.
The programme aims help expedite the uptake of technology and best practice by identifying specific opportunities where technology can make a difference, shaping joint requirements, undertaking trials and developing best practices and recommendations.
The UK P&I Club and TT Club are the first insurers to join the initiative, according to Safetytech Accelerator.
UK P&I Club loss prevention director Stuart Edmonston said fires on board container ships keep happening, with depressing regularity, often resulting in tragic loss of life and catastrophic damage to ship and cargo.
“A large proportion of these fires are completely preventable, and we find that losses could have been mitigated by better practices,” Mr Edmonston said.
“This is an industry-wide problem that requires collaboration. The only way to improve safety is to work together, share ideas, and identify and utilise modern technological solutions.”
TT Club managing director of loss prevention Mike Yarwood said: “As an insurer of many elements of the container supply chain, we have long campaigned for improved certainty for classification, declaration and packing of cargo in containers”.
Safetytech Accelerator CFLII program director Rich McLoughlin said: “We believe cross-industry collaboration around innovation is an essential component to reduce the incidence of large cargo fires and enhance the safety of seafarers and vessels. Together with the Anchor Partners we are already uncovering technologies and applications that have the potential to make significant progress to that goal”.
