Thermal runaway caused Ningbo port explosion

On Monday, the Maritime Safety Administration of the People's Republic of China released a report on the investigation of last year's container ship fire and explosion in Ningbo, indicating a thermal runaway of dangerous goods caused the accident.

On Aug 9, 2024, at 1:46 pm, a Liberian container ship named Mwas docked at the Ningbo-Zhoushan Port. During operations, a dangerous cargo container on the starboard bow caught fire and exploded.

The accident caused damage to nearby containers and the ship's body, resulting in a direct economic loss of approximately 90 million yuan ($12.31 million).

The investigation report indicated that the accident occurred due to the thermal runaway in a non-powered refrigerated container carrying tert-Butyl peroxybenzoate, known as TBPB.

The carriers and shippers did not carefully consider the risks associated with the transportation of TBPB, including the high temperature at the time, the heat-releasing properties of the cargo's self-decomposition reaction, and the insulation and airtight characteristics of the non-powered refrigerated container.

Their insufficient assessment of potential safety risks led to the accumulation of heat generated by the cargo's self-decomposition reaction inside the container, causing a rapid increase in temperature and ultimately resulting in thermal runaway, which was a key factor in the accident.

The investigation team concluded that the carriers and shippers shared responsibility for the accident.