Who Will IMO's Interim PCTC Fire Rules Cover?
Car carriers first. SSE 12 put interim PCTC fire and detection guidelines ahead of ferries, after ICS and Interferry argued drencher ships differ.
Pure car and truck carriers come first, and for now only them. At SSE 12 (9–13 March 2026) IMO gave priority to two interim guidelines, one on fire safety measures for PCTCs and one on video monitoring and detection systems, with a correspondence group reporting to SSE 13 in March 2027. Ro-pax ferries were carved out of parts of that review after ICS and Interferry argued that a drencher-fitted ferry faces a different problem from a CO2-protected car carrier.
Scope matters more than the timetable here. Allianz's Safety & Shipping Review 2026 counts a vehicle-carrier fire roughly every 37 days, and the first IMO text written for a car-carrier deck, rather than a ferry deck, is now being drafted. Which ships that text addresses decides who gets IMO-authored expectations in 2027, and who keeps working from a floor that was designed for someone else's ship.
What SSE 12 actually decided
It narrowed a broad output to one ship type and two documents. The output, opened at MSC 105 in April 2022 following a 2021 proposal from China, covers the adequacy of fire protection, detection and extinction in vehicle, special category and ro-ro spaces of ships carrying new-energy vehicles. That title reaches every ro-ro deck afloat. SSE 12 revised the action plan to prioritise PCTCs and to develop interim guidelines on fire safety measures for vehicle carriers and on video monitoring and detection systems before any SOLAS text. DNV's summary records the end state as goal-based, technically neutral SOLAS amendments entering into force on 1 January 2032 at the earliest.
Two neighbouring tracks are easy to confuse with this one. SSE 12 also started technology-neutral interim guidelines for ships using battery energy storage systems, meaning the ship's own batteries rather than the cargo's, with completion targeted for 2028. It also agreed portable infrared thermal imagers and water-mist lances for container ships. Neither is the vehicle-carrier package.
Why ferries were carved out
Because the industry associations that speak for ferries argued that the fire problem on a drencher-fitted deck is not the one on a car carrier, and the research supported them. In SSE 12/16/7, ICS and Interferry set out five differences between ro-pax ships and PCCs or PCTCs: port access and turnaround arrangements; maximum operating distance from the coastline; availability and accessibility of shore-based rescue services; the preparedness and response capability of onboard firefighting teams; and the configuration and layout of vehicle stowage areas. They proposed amending the output's scope to exclude cargo spaces on ro-ro passenger ships and to apply it solely to vehicle carriers not engaged in carrying passengers.
The suppression system carried the argument. Ro-pax ferries and most ro-ro cargo ships protect vehicle decks with a fixed water-based drencher, while a PCTC floods the space with CO2. The EU LASH FIRE project found that a drencher has the same effect on the fire whether the source vehicle is electric or combustion-engined, as IUMI's 2025 risk-mitigation paper records. Interferry's regulatory director Johan Roos put the contrast plainly: drenchers "demonstrably deal with an EV fire on the ro-ro deck", while the CO2 systems on vehicle carriers "may not be sufficient". Interferry's own SSE 12 report says LASH FIRE was decisive and that the outcome was an exclusion of ro-pax from parts of the correspondence group's review.
What makes a PCTC the priority
Its deck geometry and its suppression system both work against an EV fire. A PCTC is usually built with 10 to 13 vehicle decks at very low clear heights, with cars stowed close enough to block quick access to any one of them. Its fixed system is a one-shot CO2 release that has to be contained to work, and SAFETY4SEA's comparison of ship types notes it cannot be used alongside while the internal doors and the stern or side ramps are open. IUMI has said PCTC CO2 capacity should at least double. No extinguishing medium stops a traction battery in thermal runaway once it starts, so detection and confirmation time matter more on this deck than on any other ro-ro type. Video monitoring and detection got their own guideline for that reason.
Where ro-ro cargo ships and ferries stand
Ferries already have a binding floor, and ro-ro cargo ships sit in the gap between the two packages. Resolution MSC.550(108), in force since 1 January 2026, requires individually identifiable detection and video monitoring in the vehicle spaces of new passenger ships, and catches existing passenger ships at the first survey on or after 1 January 2028. That is the floor a ferry builds against, whatever the PCTC guidelines end up saying. A ro-ro cargo ship or a conro is neither a passenger ship nor a pure car carrier. It is usually drencher-fitted like a ferry, but it has no 2028 date, so its fire-safety rules will depend on how the PCTC guidelines draw their boundary and on whether the 2027–2028 round picks it up.
What it means for owners and underwriters
Read the scope line before the content. A PCTC owner should expect the interim guidelines, once approved after SSE 13, to be the document charterers, class and insurers quote. They are the first IMO text written for that deck, so a detection and video specification chosen now should be checked against them. A ro-pax operator's obligations stay with MSC.550(108) and the 2028 survey, and the carve-out means the PCTC guidelines do not transfer automatically. Owners of ro-ro cargo ships and conros should follow the 2027–2028 round, because that is where their position gets settled. For underwriters, the split means the fleet's fire-safety standard will vary by ship type as well as by owner until 2032, and a single questionnaire for every vehicle deck will miss that difference.
How RoRoSAFE helps
IMO's first car-carrier fire guidelines will land on PCTCs, where CO2 cannot stop a battery in thermal runaway and early warning matters most. RoRoSAFE adds infrared thermal and battery-vent gas sensing under each parked vehicle, with alerts before visible smoke that name the deck and bay to the bridge and shore. It installs alongside the berth without drydock and complements SOLAS systems. It holds no class type approval yet; a one-deck pilot is the first step.
Pilot: one deck · installed alongside the berth · no drydock · 6 months of dashboard access
Sources
- 1. DNV — "IMO Sub-Committee on Ship Systems and Equipment (SSE 12)", March 2026: revised action plan on fire protection, detection and extinction in vehicle, special category and ro-ro spaces; priority to interim guidelines on fire safety measures for vehicle carriers (PCTCs) and on video monitoring and detection systems before SOLAS amendments; correspondence group until SSE 13 (March 2027); draft SOLAS amendments to enter into force 1 January 2032 at the earliest; BESS interim guidelines targeted for 2028; container-ship portable IR thermal imagers and water-mist lances.
- 2. Bureau Veritas — SSE 12 Summary Report (March 2026): priority to PCTCs; two sets of guidelines (safety measures for PCTCs; video-based monitoring and detection system); goal-based, technically neutral SOLAS amendments with a target entry into force of 2032.
- 3. ICS and Interferry — IMO document SSE 12/16/7, comments on document SSE 12/12, under the output "Evaluation of adequacy of fire protection, detection and extinction arrangements in vehicle, special category and ro-ro spaces in order to reduce the fire risk of ships carrying new energy vehicles": five listed differences between ro-pax ships and PCCs/PCTCs; proposal to exclude cargo spaces on ro-pax ships and apply the output solely to vehicle carriers not carrying passengers.
- 4. Interferry — Regulatory Report, IMO SSE 12 summary (via Shippax), and MarineLink, "Interferry Says Vessel Differences Need Consideration in Fire Regulations" (March 2026): 2021 proposal from China; LASH FIRE decisive; ro-pax excluded from parts of the correspondence-group review; possible further round in 2027–2028 targeting SOLAS amendments by 2032; Johan Roos quotes on drenchers and CO2 systems.
- 5. Riviera Maritime Media — "EV fire risks draw IMO's attention" (March 2026): SSE 12, 9–12 March 2026; interim guidelines prioritised; correspondence group to SSE 13.
- 6. IUMI — "Risk mitigation for the safe ocean and short-sea carriage of electric vehicles", September 2025: LASH FIRE full-scale tests found a drencher has the same impact on the fire whether ICEV or EV; no extinguishing media can interrupt thermal runaway; the time between detection and verification must be reduced to the shortest possible period. IUMI's call for at least double PCTC CO2 capacity is covered, with its source, in the linked post Should Car Carriers Carry Twice the CO₂?.
- 7. SAFETY4SEA — "Do you know the differences between PCTCs and RoRo/RoPax?", 6 September 2023: PCTCs usually configured with 10–13 decks at low deck heights; vehicles stowed with very little space between them; CO2 cannot be contained alongside with internal doors and ramps open.
- 8. Allianz Commercial — "Safety & Shipping Review 2026" (June 2026): a vehicle-carrier fire roughly every 37 days. Covered with its source in the linked post Allianz 2026: a vehicle-carrier fire every 37 days.
- 9. IMO — Resolution MSC.550(108), adopted 23 May 2024, in force 1 January 2026: amended SOLAS II-2/20 for passenger ships constructed on or after 1 January 2026, with retroactive paragraphs for existing passenger ships at the first survey on or after 1 January 2028. Application read from the resolution in the linked post Does the 2026 SOLAS Rule Reach Old Ships?.
Questions, answered
Which ships will IMO's interim PCTC fire guidelines apply to?+
Pure car and truck carriers. At SSE 12 in March 2026, IMO prioritised PCTCs and agreed to develop interim guidelines on fire safety measures for vehicle carriers and on video monitoring and detection systems. Ro-pax ferries were excluded from parts of the review after ICS and Interferry argued their drencher-fitted decks face a different problem. Where ro-ro cargo ships fall is not yet settled.
Why are ro-pax ferries not covered by the PCTC work?+
Ferries protect vehicle decks with water-based drenchers, and the EU LASH FIRE project found a drencher acts on an EV fire the same way as on a combustion-engine fire. PCTCs rely on one-shot CO2, which cannot stop thermal runaway. ICS and Interferry also cited differences in turnaround, distance from shore, rescue access, crew response and stowage layout. A second round in 2027–2028 may still revisit ro-pax.
When will the interim PCTC guidelines be ready?+
Not before 2027. A correspondence group is developing both sets of guidelines and reports to SSE 13 in March 2027; approval follows at a later Maritime Safety Committee session. The guidelines come before any SOLAS text, and DNV reports the resulting goal-based, technically neutral SOLAS amendments are expected to enter into force on 1 January 2032 at the earliest.
Do ferries have to do anything under the 2026 SOLAS fire amendments?+
Yes. Resolution MSC.550(108), in force since 1 January 2026, sets individually identifiable detection and video monitoring for vehicle spaces on new passenger ships and reaches existing passenger ships at the first survey on or after 1 January 2028. That obligation stands regardless of the PCTC guidelines, which are a separate, later instrument aimed at car carriers.
Continue the thread
Why Is There No EV-Specific SOLAS Fire Rule?
The 2026 amendment is fuel-blind and written mainly for passenger ships. IMO's new-energy-vehicle output is at guideline stage; SOLAS text is 2032 at best.
Does Car-Carrier Fire Compliance Arrive in 2027?
No. 2027 holds no entry-into-force date. The calendar is 2026 (new passenger ships), 2028 (existing ro-pax) and 2032 at the earliest for PCTCs.
Should Car Carriers Carry Twice the CO₂?
IUMI says PCTC CO₂ capacity should at least double. The rules size it for one shot, and IMO's EV rules are years off. What a second charge buys owners.
Do Drencher Systems Stop an EV Deck Fire?
Fixed water drencher and mist systems can't extinguish a sealed battery pack — but full-scale tests show a correctly run drencher contains an EV deck fire.
Does the 2026 SOLAS Rule Reach Old Ships?
Only if it is a passenger ship. MSC.550(108) catches existing ro-pax at the first survey on or after 1 Jan 2028; an existing car carrier is not named.
What Does SOLAS 2026 Video Monitoring Require?
Cameras over every passenger-ship vehicle deck, 7-day playback, each camera mapped to a drencher section, no one required to watch. Cargo ships: nothing.