Fundación Valenciaport, the Port Authority of Valencia (PAV), and the Valencia Provincial Consortium of Firefighters have announced a partnership on the OVERHEAT project, which aims to prevent and manage fires on containerships.
The initiative, coordinated by the Italian Maritime Academy (IMAT) and involving PAV and Fundación Valenciaport, has a budget of more than €7 million ($7.5 million), which is co-financed by the European Executive Agency for Climate, Infrastructure, and Environment’s Horizon Europe programme (CINEA).
OVERHEAT will use the consortium’s experience to design a solution to assist avoid, control, and greatly minimise fires on containerships, ensuring both human safety and environmental preservation.
OVERHEAT is reported to be consistent with the International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) aims and rules, as well as those of other regulatory agencies, in terms of considerably improving containership safety and the prevention and control of on-board fires.
READ: Fundación Valenciaport partakes in STBERNARD safety project
According to Fundación Valenciaport, the project’s expected outcomes include a reduction in the frequency of containership fires, a reduction in the risk to crews, coastal and port populations from the toxic products produced by the combustion of these fires, and a significant reduction in shipping accidents, such as vessel collisions and groundings.
In addition, OVERHEAT will use automated solutions to assist eliminate the human component as a cause of maritime accidents, particularly for vessels operating in sensitive locations.
