The advice is keep batteries of any kind away from metal objects


In the January Safety Flashes document published by IMCA, a case has been summarised following the explosion of a lithium battery that burnt and damaged the ship’s lifejackets.


During a routine inspection on a vessel in cold lay-up, the lifejackets stored underneath a sitting bench in the wheelhouse were found burned and melted. No one was harmed in the incident.


A Lithium battery (3.6v) had exploded in one of the self-igniting lights. As the bench was in a properly closed position, without any gaps, the fire could not spread due to a lack of oxygen. Therefore the fire was not detected and did not activate a fire alarm, as the smoke was contained inside the storage compartment. Investigation showed that the battery of the “Lalizas 71209” life jacket light had expired five months earlier.


A possible cause could be that this battery was exposed to moisture before the lay-up period and water ingress affected the battery content after the lifejacket was put back in storage.


Lessons learned: – Store such equipment in a secure, dry and cool place away from flammable materials; – Keep batteries of any kind away from metal objects to avoid short circuit between the terminals; – Lithium batteries in your workplace: – Assess where Lithium batteries are present and check, if possible, the condition of the battery and cover; – Verify the expiry date of the battery; – Regularly inspect batteries of lifejacket lights and other devices like radios as per planned maintenance schedule; – If batteries are expired or damaged, remove them and dispose of them properly; – For laid-up vessels, it may be appropriate to consider whether or not to remove Lithium batteries and other hazardous materials from vessels before going onto lay-up.


Burned lifejackets (left) and the lamp used in the lifejackets (right)


BEIS releases five guidance documents on the UKCA mark in preparation for 1 January 2023


The Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy has released a number of guidance documents to help raise awareness about the support and guidance which is available for the up and coming changes the UK will be facing on 1 January 2023 for the UKCA mark. These guidance documents have been created to make sure businesses make the necessary changes before the UK’s new product certification system comes into place.


BEIS has produced five documents and one video for businesses to look over, especially businesses from outside the UK. The documents that have been created are:


1. Step by Step Guide: UKCA mark 3. Step by Step Guide: UKNI 5. Using the UKNI marking


2. New Product Marking & Conformity Assessment 4. Using the UKCA marking


Guidance about using the UKCA mark is available at https://bit.ly/3qVFwMv.


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