Notice to Shipowners, Ship Operators, Managers,
Masters,
Owners’ Representatives and Recognised
Organisations
The Directorate wishes to draw the attention of all concerned to
the Marine Safety Investigation Report No.
26/2017. This Report highlights the potential fire safety
hazards when carrying cargo in Bulk, particularly to hazards
related to the carriage and handling of wood pellets.
It establishes the circumstances and safety factors of an
accident as a basis to make recommendations, in order to minimize
the risk of such re-occurrences.
Wood pellets are a compressed solid biomass fuel, prone to
mechanical and chemical degradation and moisture absorption during
handling or storage. Problems can arise when handling large amounts
of wood pellets, which ultimately can be the causes of various
hazards such as oxygen depletion, increase in carbon monoxide and
carbon dioxide generation, even fire and explosions due to the
generation of high dust concentration
