Lloyd’s Register Type Approval is here!
LiVAULT is delighted to announce that RAMBSS, the RACLAN Maritime Battery Safety System, has received Lloyd’s Register Type Approval for the storage and charging of lithium-ion battery-powered devices and spare or removable lithium-ion batteries on yachts.
The approval is an important milestone for LiVAULT, RACLAN, and TechnoPhysik, and represents a significant step forward in the development of safer lithium-ion battery storage and charging solutions for the marine and offshore sectors.
A response to a growing marine safety challenge
Electric tenders, electric jet skis, e-foils, diver propulsion units and other electrically powered watercraft are becoming increasingly common on super yachts. Their batteries offer important operational and environmental benefits, but they also introduce fire, thermal-runaway, off-gas and re-ignition risks that must be considered during storage and charging.
The UK Maritime and Coastguard Agency’s MGN 681 (M) Amendment 1, published in December 2025, provides specific guidance on the fire safety and storage of small electric-powered craft on yachts. It recognises that dedicated charging cabinets and boxes must do more than simply contain a battery. They should support closed-door charging, temperature-rise detection, automatic charging interruption, extinguishing or cooling without opening the cabinet, controlled gas venting, fire insulation and explosion protection.
MGN 681 also states that battery storage and charging containers or boxes are marine equipment and that, from 1 January 2027, relevant equipment placed on board UK-registered vessels must be UK type approved and certified by a UK Nominated Body.
RAMBSS Type Approval
Lloyd’s Register Type Approval covers RAMBSS as a lithium-ion battery storage and charging container for yacht use. The approval is based on the certificate conditions, the assessed design, the supporting test evidence, the manufacturer’s operating instructions and the referenced electrical documentation. Final acceptance remains subject to the applicable Flag Administration and vessel-specific requirements.
The approval recognises RAMBSS for use in accordance with MGN 681 Amendment 1, Sections 4.12 and 4.13, including the storage and charging of electrically powered craft and spare or removable lithium-ion batteries onboard yachts.
The approved RAMBSS arrangement includes:
- A rigid, fire-resistant protective enclosure.
- Closed-door charging.
- Automatic interruption of charging during a detected abnormal event.
- Integrated smoke and temperature detection.
- Cooling and fire-suppression activation.
- Controlled pressure relief.
- Gas filtration and treatment.
- Local alarm indication.
- Integration with the vessel’s alarm and monitoring system.
- A maximum permitted total stored battery energy of 5.2 kWh.
Independent testing and assessment
The Lloyd’s Register Type Approval was supported by third-party testing and assessment from Lloyd’s Register, RISE and TÜV NORD.
The supporting evidence includes testing using selected principles of UL 9540A for thermal-runaway propagation, fire and gas evaluation, and selected principles of UL 1487 for functional gas-detection response. It also includes explosion testing with a propane-air mixture in accordance with TÜV NORD test specification M 02-2022.
The RISE report assessed a 5.1–5.2 kWh NMC module containing 576 cylindrical 18650 cells. During the test, a cell entered thermal runaway, the detection system activated, cooling and water-flooding systems operated, and propagation to adjacent cells was prevented. The report also recorded pressure-relief operation, gas filtration, and no significant temperature rise on the nearby instrumented walls.
Supporting the yachting industry
For yacht owners, designers, builders, captains and technical managers, the safe storage and charging of lithium-ion batteries is becoming an increasingly important design and operational issue.
The challenge is not only to contain a battery event. A suitable solution must also:
- Detect abnormal battery behaviour at an early stage.
- Interrupt charging automatically.
- Manage heat and fire propagation.
- Control pressure and venting.
- Reduce exposure to toxic and flammable gases.
- Communicate alarms to the crew.
- Support safe firefighting and post-incident procedures.
- Be installed and operated within an approved vessel arrangement.
RAMBSS has been developed around these requirements and has now achieved Lloyd’s Register Type Approval.
LiVAULT is proud to support RACLAN, in bringing this independently assessed battery-safety system to the yachting market.
Congratulations to everyone involved in the engineering, testing, documentation and certification process.
To discuss a yacht project, installation requirements or the RAMBSS Type Approval documentation, please contact LiVAULT.
