Handheld Radio Battery Fire Causes Millions in Damage

On November 13, 2022, at about 3:30 pm, a fire broke out on the bridge of the S-Trust, an oil tanker that was docked in Baton Rouge. While no one was injured, the accident caused some $3 million in damage.

According to the NTSB, the fire was traced to the thermal runaway of a cell in an ultra-high-frequency handheld radio's lithium-ion battery.

The batteries and chargers for the radios were placed on a communications table on the bridge. Luckily, the vessel's crew was able to extinguish the fire before it spread, but the S-Trust's navigation, communication and alarm systems were damaged beyond repair.