The shipping industry is urging the International Maritime Organization (IMO) to revise rules that exempt small lithium‑ion batteries — those under a 100‑watt‑hour threshold — from hazardous‑goods declaration. Containers packed with hundreds of laptops, power banks and similar devices can be loaded without the captain’s knowledge, bypassing strict stowage and segregation requirements for dangerous goods. Marcus Örtenblad, dangerous goods policy manager at Maersk, said the operational consequences are significant because crew cannot access or monitor these hidden hazards.

Joe Kramek, chief executive of the World Shipping Council, noted that some exempted shipments contain more stored energy than four electric‑vehicle batteries and have already caused serious container fires. Allianz reported more than 200 ship fire incidents in 2025, the second‑highest on record, many linked to undeclared or mis‑declared lithium‑ion batteries. Thermal runaway makes such fires extremely difficult to extinguish.

Colin Gillespie, global head of loss prevention at North Standard, warned that regulation has not kept pace with the rapid growth in battery shipments, which the International Energy Agency says were six times higher in 2025 than in 2020 and are projected to double by 2030. A joint paper to the IMO from industry groups and several flag states cites the 2020 X Press Godavari fire — sparked by over 500 battery packs and 600 torch batteries — as a typical example; the blaze took up to 42 hours to control and was likely exacerbated by prolonged exposure to temperatures above 30 °C.