Hyundai Glovis Installs Marine Firefighting Equipment on 32 Car Carriers

Introduction of 'EV Drill Lance'
Remote Operation Research Underway

Hyundai Glovis announced on the 4th that it has introduced the fire suppression special equipment called 'EV Drill Lance' to all car carriers (owned vessels) it owns. This measure is to quickly extinguish unexpected fires during finished vehicle maritime transport and minimize damage.

'EV Drill Lance' in use. Provided by Hyundai Glovis

The EV Drill Lance is a device that drills directly into the battery pack under an electric vehicle on fire and sprays water to extinguish the fire. The operation process involves pushing the EV Drill Lance, connected to a fire hydrant hose, under the burning electric vehicle, then using water pressure to rotate a turbine that activates the drill attached to the device. If the drill drills a hole in the vehicle body and battery pack within 2 minutes, water is sprayed inside to suppress the fire.

In the case of ship fires, since the cargo is densely stacked, initial fire suppression is crucial. The EV Drill Lance significantly shortens the extinguishing time, preventing the damage from spreading to surrounding vehicles. Hyundai Glovis first introduced the EV Drill Lance on the vessel 'Glovis Sirius' in October last year. By the end of last year, it completed installation on all 32 owned vessels.

Hyundai Glovis is also conducting research to electrify each component of the EV Drill Lance to enable remote control. Once remote operation is possible, the equipment can be controlled at a certain distance from the burning vehicle, ensuring the safety of the crew. Additionally, the electrified equipment can move faster than a person carrying it directly to the fire site, reducing initial response time.

Hyundai Glovis has also established various customized fire response systems for car carriers.

Last year, it introduced a new fire monitoring system called 'Smig' and installed it on five owned vessels. Smig is a device that connects about 1,000 heat and smoke detectors and alarms into a single system. When a fire occurs on the ship, a floor plan of the cargo hold on fire is displayed on a computer monitor installed in the wheelhouse, with the exact fire location marked by a red dot. This helps with initial fire response in the complex structure of the ship. It also provides numerical data on the temperature of the fire and the density of the smoke. Hyundai Glovis plans to complete the installation of Smig on the remaining owned vessels within this year.

Earlier in 2022, Hyundai Glovis placed more than 10 'smothering fire blankets' made of non-combustible materials and special fire suppression equipment called 'water mist windows' on each vessel in operation. Furthermore, before loading electric vehicles, the battery charge level is minimized, and numerous closed-circuit televisions (CCTV) are installed on each deck of the ship's cargo hold to frequently monitor the condition of the loaded vehicles.

A Hyundai Glovis official said, "Based on the enhanced finished vehicle maritime transport fire response system, we plan to provide safety-specialized services to increase transportation competitiveness and performance."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.