Gard published that in the past few months, has received several queries on the safe carriage of battery energy storage systems (BESS) on ships and highlights some of the key risks, regulatory requirements, and recommendations for shipping such cargo.
Batteries can be shipped on all main modes of transportation used in logistics: air, ocean, road, and rail. However, there are some different regulations and requirements depending on the mode of transport. Below we cover general guidelines applicable to all transport modes, but check the following dangerous goods regulations for specific info:
Ιn most ships, battery room is an isolated area on open deck (most commonly next to wheel house). A battery room – intended to accommodate the batteries of electric carts and trolleys being charged – is a potentially dangerous area. Charging the battery (particularly those made from lead-acid) releases dangerous gases (eg hydrogen).
In that regard, manufacturers storage requirements should be followed, charging circuit should be checked to be free from dust/liquid presence as well as the cool temperature in storage rooms/areas. However, for main battery system the storage requirements are included in SOLAS as batteries considered as hazardous risk source on board.
Battery energy storage systems (BESS) are the most common type of ESS where batteries are pre-assembled into several modules. BESS come in various sizes depending on their application and their usage is expected to rise considerably in coming years.
We’ve listed some must-dos on how to ship batteries: Batteries need to be packed in inner packaging that completely surrounds them, like a fiberboard box. This prevents short circuits. Inner packaging must be packed in strong, rigid outer packaging like wood, fiberboard, or metal boxes. This provides impact and crush protection.