16 yachts lost to fire in a year - now a 2027 lithium rule
What the new guidance requires
The rule at the centre of this is MGN 681 (M) Amendment 1, published by the UK Maritime and Coastguard Agency on 19 December 2025. It replaces the original note from June 2023 and is the first version to set out in detail how yachts should store and charge the small electric craft now common aboard, from electric tenders and jet skis to e-foils, dive scooters and other personal watercraft. The common thread is the lithium-ion battery, and the guidance treats where and how those batteries are charged as a fire-safety question rather than a convenience.
From 1 January 2027, any battery storage or charging container on a UK-registered yacht must be UK Type Approved by a Nominated Body. An approved container has to allow charging with the lid closed, detect a temperature rise, vent off-gases, apply an extinguishing medium without being opened, and shut down charging automatically if a fault develops. The guidance flags 10 kWh as the point where external storage and charging arrangements come into play, and most owners will pass it easily, since an electric jet ski runs to 20 to 50 kWh and an electric tender to 40 to 100 kWh. Kit already aboard before the deadline can stay in service, though the agency recommends replacing it.
Why lithium sits at the centre of it
The MCA has put numbers behind the concern. Between August 2021 and August 2022 it counted 16 yachts lost to fire, and it has said that about half of the unexplained cases in that period may be attributable to lithium-ion battery failures. The mechanism it worries about is thermal runaway, a self-sustaining reaction that generates its own heat and flammable gases and can keep burning without extra oxygen, releasing carbon monoxide, hydrogen and other toxic off-gases as it goes.
For an owner, the useful point is where that risk actually lives. It is rarely the main propulsion system. It is the toys, and the lockers and garages where they charge overnight, often close to accommodation. That is why the guidance reads as an operational and design matter as much as a paperwork one, and why crews and captains are being asked to treat tender charging with the same discipline as any other high-risk work aboard.
Where it meets insurance and resale
The reason this matters beyond the technical file is that insurers are watching it. In a June 2026 briefing the law firm HFW, writing with reference to the International Union of Marine Insurance, described yacht fires as low-frequency but high-severity events and said compliance with MGN 681 will feed directly into how yachts are underwritten and how claims are assessed. Its caution was plain: non-compliance can lead to coverage disputes, reduced recovery or, in some cases, an insurer withdrawing cover.
That changes the calculus for owners and buyers alike. For a current owner, the cost of a certified charging container and any structural work is small against the risk of a contested total-loss claim, and the sensible step is to raise it with the broker and flag state well before 2027. For a buyer, lithium storage now belongs on the pre-purchase survey and in the refit budget, particularly on charter yachts and on boats that carry a full complement of electric tenders and water toys. A yacht that already meets the standard is easier to insure and easier to sell.