Many marine cargo fires and explosions are due to self-heating in some form. In general, self-heating occurs when an exothermic (heat-producing) chemical or biochemical reaction happens within a body of cargo.

Loss of the heat produced by the reaction is restricted by the surrounding cargo, packaging, dunnage, containers etc. Due to restricted heat loss, the temperature within the cargo tends to increase.

Immediate causes – factors affecting self-heating

The main principles of self-heating mean that several factors can affect the severity of self-heating and whether it develops to a problematic level.

Read more about Cargoes affected by self-heating in The Swedish Club brochure ‘Fire! A guide to the causes and prevention of cargo fires’. 

This brochure has been written in cooperation with Dr Neil Sanders, a partner with Burgoynes.

A printed copy can be ordered from marketing.comms@swedishclub.com