In the wake of the Fremantle Highway blaze that killed one and injured several others, there is an urgent need for updates to STCW fire safety training, says Stream Marine Training. The 199m cargo ship was en route from Germany to Egypt when it caught fire along the Dutch coastline on Wednesday (July 26th) last week. 

The tragedy has caused industry figures to demand crew are properly trained on the dangers of lithium battery fires, especially as they become more prevalent in propulsion and tenders.

“A review of the STCW training is due to be carried out in 2025 but we would urge the IMO to carry this out as soon as possible,” says Tony in’t Hout, Director, Stream Marine Training. “One death is one too many and we cannot afford to wait for something catastrophic to happen before we take action.”

The vessel was carrying around 3,000 cars, around 25 of which are thought to have been electric vehicles. Whilst the cause of the fire is unconfirmed, it is widely believed that a battery was the cause of the fire. 

Despite the expectations that more electric boats will be sold this year than any year to date, current STCW training only covers traditional fires. “Fires caused by batteries require different firefighting action than a normal fire. As a matter of urgency, this needs to be looked at,” adds in’t Hout. “The number of fires caused by electric transportation is growing rapidly, and this is an industry challenge that Stream Marine takes very seriously and believes is a growing risk to the industry.”

Dutch authorities finally extinguished the fire today (August 2nd).

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