The London P&I Club has issued a warning about continued problems associated with the carriage of Indonesian thermal or ‘steam’ coal, following a number of recent incidents involving owners and charterers. Indonesian coal has a propensity to self-heat and/or emit methane. If uncontrolled, self-heating can lead to serious cargo fires, and an accumulation of methane can explode. The IMSBC Code states that coal with such characteristics should not be loaded if the temperature of the cargo exceeds 55ºC, and that the atmosphere in the holds is monitored at least daily on passage. The oxidisation process that can lead to self-heating can be detected by checking the hold atmosphere for rising levels of carbon monoxide (CO) and falling oxygen (O2) levels. Methane levels can be measured directly.