Hyundai Glovis employees work on strengthening the company's customized fire response system for vehicles shipped to overseas destinations on a cargo ship, March 30. Courtesy of Hyundai Glovis

By Kim Jae-heun

Hyundai Glovis has strengthened a customized on-board response system to respond to fires that may occur during sea transportation of electric automobiles, the company said Wednesday.

Hyundai Glovis is a logistics company headquartered in Seoul, South Korea and part of the Hyundai Kia Automotive Group.

Due to the increase in global demand for electric vehicles (EVs), the volume of sea transportation for EVs has also increased. Hyundai Glovis established the fire response system through research with the Korean Register of Shipping and others.

Furthermore, it plans to take preemptive measures to secure the safety of sailors and to prevent major disasters at industrial sites.

Vehicles shipped in the car carrier are tightly packed, which can lead to fires. In particular, when an electric vehicle catches fire, suitable equipment is required because the fire suppression method is different from that of an internal combustion engine vehicle.

Hyundai Glovis will sequentially place special equipment for extinguishing fires in vehicles such as "fire cover" and "water mist lance" on operating car carriers.

The fire cover is a device that employs a specially coated cloth that is placed over a burning vehicle to prevent oxygen inflow, put out the fire and contain heat and smoke. It was developed in Norway in 2014 and has been proven to be effective in preventing the spread of fires in electric vehicles and is being used by fire departments among others.

This version of the cover the Hyundai Glovis carriers are equipped with is a new improved product to better suit the shipping environment.

Above all, the fire cover is effective in preventing a fire from spreading to adjacent vehicles if it is used on the first vehicle to ignite, even if the vehicles on board are densely loaded. Considering that the sizes of the shipped vehicles vary, Hyundai Glovis plans to deploy a fire cover that can cover even large sport utility vehicles.

The metal-framed water mist lance is fire-extinguishing equipment which consists of pipes and nozzles that can directly spray water on areas where a fire breaks out by penetrating enclosed spaces such as iron doors and concrete interiors. It is expected to be effective in controlling fires by inserting a long tube of more than 1 meter into the car and spraying water close to the bottom of the car.

"We have established a system to understand the changing trend of the automobile industry and to preemptively meet the needs of shippers. We will continue to lead the global market by introducing differentiated capabilities," a Hyundai Glovis official said.