Lashing the Cargo Isn't Protecting It
Lashing stops vehicles moving; it does nothing about ignition. With a 2026 PSC campaign on cargo securing, budget and drill the two separately.
Lashing and fire protection solve different problems, and a ship can be excellent at one and exposed on the other. Lashing keeps vehicles from moving in a seaway; it is governed by the ship's approved Cargo Securing Manual and the CSS Code. Fire protection is about detecting and containing an ignition that lashing does nothing to prevent. The two meet on the deck, where the gaps and gear that secure a vehicle also decide how easily a crew can reach it.
What does lashing actually protect against?
Movement. SOLAS requires cargo units to be loaded, stowed and secured throughout the voyage in accordance with a Cargo Securing Manual approved by the Administration, drawn up to the IMO's guidelines in MSC.1/Circ.1353 and the Code of Safe Practice for Cargo Stowage and Securing. On a car deck that means lashing points, belts and chocks sized for the accelerations the ship will see. Done well, it stops vehicles shifting, colliding and loading the ship's structure unevenly. It has no bearing on whether a battery or wiring fault ignites.
Why is cargo securing under inspection in 2026?
Because the Paris and Tokyo MoUs have made it this year's concentrated inspection campaign. From 1 September to 30 November 2026, port State control officers apply a ten-question questionnaire on the loading, stowage and securing of cargo units, checking the approved Cargo Securing Manual, the condition and maintenance of securing equipment, and whether the crew actually apply the manual. Seven of the ten questions can ground a detention. For a car carrier, that makes lashing gear and procedure a visible compliance item this autumn.
Where do lashing and fire meet?
In access and in spread. The tighter vehicles are stowed and lashed, the harder it is for a crew to reach a vehicle that is overheating, and the faster radiant heat can bridge from one car to the next. Full-scale tests put spread to an adjacent car at around 20 minutes, and car-deck stowage is tighter than the test spacing. Lashing also matters after a fire starts: belts and fittings exposed to heat can fail, and a vehicle that breaks loose in a seaway during a fire adds a second hazard to the first.
There is one documented case where securing and fire were directly linked. On Genius Star XI in 2022, improperly secured lithium-ion battery cargo shifted in heavy weather and caught fire twice before the ship reached port; the NTSB treated the securing failure as part of the causal chain. Vehicles are different cargo, but the lesson carries: a battery that is damaged by movement is a new ignition source.
Why should owners budget for them separately?
Because combining them hides the gap. A safety budget line that mixes lashing gear with fire protection, or a drill programme that exercises stowage but not a thermal alarm, makes the ship look well prepared while leaving detection untested. Keep securing and fire response as separate items, each with its own inspection, drill and evidence.
- Securing: Cargo Securing Manual current and applied, gear inspected and recorded, ready for the 2026 campaign questionnaire.
- Fire: detection coverage of the loaded deck, how an alarm is verified, and drill records showing time from alarm to decision.
- Where they overlap: stowage gaps that preserve access to vehicles, and procedures for securing after a fire has been contained.
How RoRoSAFE helps
Lashing handles motion; RoRoSAFE handles ignition. Each parked vehicle gets a thermal and battery-vent gas sensor cell beneath it, and a developing event is flagged to the bridge before visible smoke. It installs without drilling the deck or touching the vehicles or their lashings, so the two jobs stay separate and both get done.
Pilot: one deck · installed alongside the berth · no drydock · 6 months of dashboard access
Sources
- 1. SOLAS Chapter VI Regulation 5 and Chapter VII Regulation 5 — cargo units secured throughout the voyage in accordance with the approved Cargo Securing Manual; IMO MSC.1/Circ.1353/Rev.2, 'Revised Guidelines for the Preparation of the Cargo Securing Manual'; IMO Code of Safe Practice for Cargo Stowage and Securing (CSS Code).
- 2. Paris MoU and Tokyo MoU — joint Concentrated Inspection Campaign on Cargo Securing, 1 September to 30 November 2026 (press release 3 August 2026; questionnaire published by the Paris MoU): ten questions, seven of which may be grounds for detention.
- 3. NTSB — Marine Investigation Report on the Genius Star XI lithium-ion battery cargo fires (2022). As analysed in 'Genius Star XI: A Contained Li-ion Fire'.
- 4. Full-scale vehicle fire tests — Energies (MDPI) 2019, 12(8):1465: spread to the adjacent car ~20 minutes.
Questions, answered
Is cargo lashing part of fire safety on a car carrier?+
Not directly. Lashing controls movement and is governed by the ship's approved Cargo Securing Manual; it does nothing to prevent a battery or wiring fault from igniting. It does affect fire response, because tight stowage and lashing make vehicles harder to reach and let heat spread faster between them.
What will port State control check on cargo securing in 2026?+
From 1 September to 30 November 2026 the Paris and Tokyo MoUs run a concentrated inspection campaign on cargo securing. Inspectors use a ten-question questionnaire covering the approved Cargo Securing Manual, the condition of securing gear and whether the crew apply the manual. Seven questions can ground a detention.
Can poorly secured cargo cause a fire?+
It can when the cargo contains batteries. On Genius Star XI in 2022, improperly secured lithium-ion battery cargo shifted in heavy weather and caught fire twice. For vehicles, the practical risk is a battery or component damaged by movement becoming a new ignition source.
Should lashing and fire detection share a budget line?+
Better not. Combining them lets a well-maintained securing programme stand in for fire readiness it does not provide. Keep them as separate items, each with its own inspection, drill and evidence, and plan the overlap deliberately: stowage gaps that preserve access, and procedures for securing after a fire.
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