The Coast Guard responded to 886 marine fires between 2015 and 2025, including 206 that resulted in serious damage, vessel destruction, injuries or deaths, according to a new Government Accountability Office report that calls for changes to the service’s response and federal law.
Several factors contribute to the severity of marine fires, including a lack of coordination between Coast Guard units and land-based authorities that assist in responding to the incidents.
The report follows a mandate in the 2026 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) to study the incidents of marine fires and Coast Guard responses.
The report found several deficiencies in the Coast Guard’s responses to marine fires despite the establishment of a task force to improve such responses following the 2023 deaths of two land-based firefighters in Newark, New Jersey.
Those deficiencies include a lack of coordination between local Coast Guard units and community fire response; inadequate training and coordination between Coast Guard personnel and land-based fire crews; little funding and resources for training and emergency response; lack of coordination and information sharing between Coast Guard sectors; and inadequate vessel response plans, or VRPs.
Those VRPs are at the heart of the proposed congressional action. GAO recommends amending the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to allow the Coast Guard to require owners and operators of nontank vessels using alternative fuels to prepare VRPs for hazardous-substance discharges.
Vessels of a certain size that use or carry petroleum products must already have plans outlining how to respond to spills and other incidents involving the hazardous materials they carry.
That legislation predates the widespread use of alternative fuels such as lithium-ion batteries, which can overheat during a fire and are difficult to extinguish, causing serious damage to vessels, people and the environment in a marine accident.
Though the Coast Guard and DHS have concurred with the recommendations outlined in the GAO report, it’s not yet clear what action, if any, Congress will take to help mitigate these incidents.
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