A new report from adaptive infrastructure company Tigris and maritime research firm Thetius has linked a rise in container-ship fires to gaps in how lithium-ion batteries are declared and tracked through the global shipping process.
According to the report, Before the Fire: Dangerous Goods Safety and the Visibility Gap, fire incident records show a 20% year-on-year increase in vessel fires, with 250 incidents marking the highest total in a decade. The report states that a major container ship fire now occurs roughly every 17 days worldwide, with undeclared and misdeclared goods identified as a leading cause.
The report points to Special Provision 188 (SP188) – a rule under international transportation codes governing how certain lithium cells and batteries move through the supply chain – as a key regulatory gap. SP188 allows qualifying lithium cells and batteries to move under reduced requirements if they meet testing and packaging rules, meaning they can bypass the declaration and approval process required for fully regulated dangerous goods, according to the report.
The report cites two incidents to illustrate the risks. In June 2025, an undeclared explosive substance is believed to have caused a container to explode below deck on the Wan Hai 503, 44 nautical miles off the coast of Kerala, killing four crew members. In August 2024, a dangerous-goods container carrying 16 metric tons of heat-sensitive peroxide exploded at Ningbo’s Beilun terminal after being booked into an unpowered refrigerated container during a heat wave, causing an estimated US$13m in direct losses, the report states.
Tom Bebbington, maritime expert witness at Tigris, said, “There is the risk that we over-rely on data as the solution, particularly when there is a lack of incentive to course-correct. Technology must be designed around human error and human self-interest.
“Data only helps if people are empowered and willing to act on it in time. Even where the risk is visible, fixing it means diverting the vessel, restowing hundreds of containers, delaying the schedule and burning more fuel.”
Bebbington said carriers need to act on safety without waiting for regulation to catch up: “It’s time carriers don’t wait on regulation to change. They need to act now to change how they ship safely, particularly when everyday items can so easily become ‘dangerous goods’.”
The full report is available for download from the Tigris website.
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