I believe everyone knows about the container ship explosion accident that occurred in Ningbo on August 9. The latest news is that the Phase III of Beilun Second Container Terminal of Ningbo Zhoushan Port in Zhejiang Province announced that it would gradually resume terminal operations in the early morning of the 12th.

At the same time, the report on the Ningbo Port container ship explosion revealed the details of the accident: the container was a refrigerated dry container (a refrigerated container with the refrigeration device turned off). The container was filled with Type C organic peroxide liquid, which does not explode or deflagrate quickly when packaged and transported, but will quickly decompose and burn when exposed to high temperatures or fire, and is classified as Class 5.2 dangerous goods among the 9 types of dangerous goods. You may wonder what the connection is between the unplugged refrigerated dry container and Class 5.2 dangerous goods, and why it caused the explosion. Today we will explain it.

 

Cause Analysis

 

 

First, a refrigerated dry container refers to a dry container used to transport refrigerated goods. It is not mandatory to use a refrigerated container during the declaration process for Class 5.2 dangerous goods. The reason why the cargo owner chooses a refrigerated dry container should be due to cost-effectiveness considerations. After all, the loading space of a refrigerated dry container is small, and usually a certain discount can be obtained in terms of price.

 

Second, Type C organic peroxide liquid will decompose and burn rapidly when it encounters high temperatures. Based on years of experience in operating hazardous chemicals, Tian Ge believes that the explosion is the result of a combination of factors. In August, Ningbo was experiencing high temperatures, with temperatures around 40 degrees. A refrigerated dry container loaded with Type C organic peroxide liquid was placed on the deck without being plugged in. In hot weather, the temperature inside the container would rise to over 60 degrees Celsius! With such a high temperature, no matter how resistant to heat explosion, it would be unbearable! Eventually, it exploded.

 

 

2

Subsequent Impact

 

 

Yang Ming Marine Transport issued an announcement simultaneously with the update of its financial report, stating that a fire accident occurred on board the "Dong Ming" while operating at Ningbo Port. As the relevant units are investigating the cause and responsibility of the incident, the amount of loss depends on the subsequent accident handling operations, and the initial estimate is between 1.5 million and 9.5 million US dollars. The company will make subsequent transshipment arrangements, ship inspections, and has activated hull insurance and container insurance. The ship repair time is usually about 3 months, but the direct and indirect losses have exceeded the value of the ship itself.

 

3

Tian Ge Tips

 

 

In order to prevent related incidents from happening again, a series of safety measures need to be taken, such as strict packaging requirements, control of transportation conditions, strengthening of personnel management, and formulation of emergency plans. Although there is no direct information indicating whether the shipowner has reported dangerous goods, the continuous high temperature in Shanghai since the beginning of the dog days will also bring additional impacts and risks to the water transportation of dangerous goods. The high temperature environment may cause some goods that were originally stable at room temperature to deteriorate, self-heat, or even explode.

 

Here we have to briefly talk about the 9 categories of dangerous goods~

 

(1) Class I Explosives: such as gunpowder, dynamite, etc.

(2) Class II Compressed gas and liquefied gas: gelatin, dry ice, fire extinguishers, etc.

(3) Class III Flammable liquids: such as gasoline, kerosene, etc.

(4) Class IV Flammable solids: such as camphor, rosin, etc.

(5) Class V Oxides, organic peroxides: such as hydroperoxide, dialkyl peroxide, potassium permanganate, hydrogen peroxide, sodium hydroxide, magnesium dioxide, sodium peroxide, etc.

(6) Class VI Toxic substances: pesticides, herbicides, arsenic, dichlorvos, etc.

(7) Class VII Radioactive substances: such as thorium nitrate, luminous powder, etc.

(8) Class VIII Corrosive substances: such as sodium hypochlorite, formaldehyde solution, etc.

(9) Class IX Miscellaneous dangerous goods: marine pollutants, unknown dangerous powders

Whether it is the cargo owner, the ship or the terminal, they all need to be extremely cautious in operations involving the transportation of dangerous goods. After all, most dangerous goods are flammable, explosive, and perishable. In order to transport the goods safely to the destination, we remind you again not to conceal any information!

 

This article is compiled and interpreted by Tian Ge, source: Yang Ming Marine Transport, Ningbo Port Phase II Terminal, National Business Daily