Home News and Resources News News 06 May, 2021 Why do tankers keep exploding? - Waypoints article Dean Crossley Head of Loss Prevention Asia Oil/chemical tanker blasts are still happening despite the implementation of updated requirements for inert gas systems. Download PDF Amendments to the SOLAS Convention (Chapter II-2, Regulation 4 - 5.5) required new- build oil and chemical tankers of 8,000dwt and above to have an inert gas (IG) system fitted from 2016. Prior to this it was for oil tankers of 20,000dwt and above, but the Bow Mariner disaster of 2014 was one of many incidents that influenced this change. This chemical tanker exploded whilst undergoing tank-cleaning operations, sadly killing 21 of her 27 crew.  Worryingly, however, tanker explosions are still occurring despite these regulatory amendments. This has been reflected in the Club’s recent claims experience, examples of which include the following: On September 28, 2019, two explosions and a fire on Stolt Groenland injured several crew and firefighters. The explosion has been linked to a deck rupture above a cargo tank which in turn ignited styrene monomer vapour in the tank. On September 7, 2020, residual fumes from a cargo tank on Trung Thao 36-BLC are thought to have caused the explosion which blew several of her 12 crew overboard and resulted in the death of one. An explosion on board General Hazi Aslanov on October 24, 2020 caused three fatalities among her 13 crew. Again, fumes in the empty tanks were the suspected cause, although investigators are examining the possibility that fire safety requirements were violated.  In all these cases, there was extensive damage to the vessels and contamination of the marine environment. To understand why tankers explode in the first place, we need to consider the basics of the fire triangle: fuel, heat and oxygen. The cargo itself is the fuel, including its vapour. The heat source  or spark may result from electrostatic discharge caused by stati