From
Joachim Becker
If you are traveling with a decades-old oldie, you should know its quirks. It’s something different when you go on holiday in a modern vehicle – and have no idea of the risks: fires break out again and again in car ferries – nevertheless, savings are made on fire protection. “The extinguishing systems are still the same as they were 50 years ago and have not kept pace with the size development and the fire loads of the ships,” warns Jörg Asmussen, General Manager of the General Association of Insurers (GDV): “We have to improve both fire detection and fundamentally change the extinguishing systems on and below deck. Otherwise, most fires remain uncontrollable, especially those from lithium-ion batteries.”