Guidelines for transportation of electric cars on ro-pax vessels: case Eckerö Line
Anttila, Jenni (2024)
2024
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Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2024060722184
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2024060722184
Tiivistelmä
The aim of this thesis is to provide tools for ongoing discourse on the challenges regarding the safety of electric vehicle transportation on ferries. As the share of battery powered vehicles increases, the challenges regarding their safe transportation have become a topic in maritime industry that creates questions for daily operations and safety of ferry traffic.
The study aims to find answers to how onshore operations could improve the safety of ferry operations. The focus is on defining the existing rulings of transportation of electric vehicles and how they are currently implemented between the companies around the Baltic Sea. The result focuses on creating framework for updating the guidelines for onshore processes for Eckerö Line. This study employs semi-structured interviews with different companies around Baltic Sea, authorities and work positions of the vehicle handling process. The respondents were asked to comment on current rulings, challenges, and views on future development of the subject.
The results show that the companies and individual workers have been enforced to make own rulings regarding transportation conditions of electric vehicles. The reason is usually related to lack of information, training or time, and that especially with the damaged vehicle, the definitions can be subjectively decided. Usually, the rulings are possibly stricter than the condition of the electric vehicle necessarily require. The
responsibilities in different parts of the vehicle handling process need to be defined in detail, and information about the power source need to be available before the loading to the ferry. Future technologies will bring new possibilities for defining the vehicle details more accurately, which increases the operational safety for aspects also outside fire safety of electric vehicles.
In summary, even though the general discussion is focused on fire safety onboard, onshore operations have big part in supporting the safety processes during the journey. The industry seems to be already turning its head towards new alternative power sources, but still, the challenges regarding electric vehicles are evident, and need to be defined for current processes in order to handle the characteristics of other power
source types in the future.
The study aims to find answers to how onshore operations could improve the safety of ferry operations. The focus is on defining the existing rulings of transportation of electric vehicles and how they are currently implemented between the companies around the Baltic Sea. The result focuses on creating framework for updating the guidelines for onshore processes for Eckerö Line. This study employs semi-structured interviews with different companies around Baltic Sea, authorities and work positions of the vehicle handling process. The respondents were asked to comment on current rulings, challenges, and views on future development of the subject.
The results show that the companies and individual workers have been enforced to make own rulings regarding transportation conditions of electric vehicles. The reason is usually related to lack of information, training or time, and that especially with the damaged vehicle, the definitions can be subjectively decided. Usually, the rulings are possibly stricter than the condition of the electric vehicle necessarily require. The
responsibilities in different parts of the vehicle handling process need to be defined in detail, and information about the power source need to be available before the loading to the ferry. Future technologies will bring new possibilities for defining the vehicle details more accurately, which increases the operational safety for aspects also outside fire safety of electric vehicles.
In summary, even though the general discussion is focused on fire safety onboard, onshore operations have big part in supporting the safety processes during the journey. The industry seems to be already turning its head towards new alternative power sources, but still, the challenges regarding electric vehicles are evident, and need to be defined for current processes in order to handle the characteristics of other power
source types in the future.