Auto carrier ship burning off Holland now reported to have had nearly 500, not 25 electric vehicles on board

American Thinker ^ | 08/01/2023 | Thomas Lifson

[SeekAndFind]

The saga of the Fremantle Highway, a special purpose auto carrier ship that has been on fire off of Holland for almost a week, killing at least one crew member, now raises even deeper suspicions about the role of lithium ion batteries, used in electric cars, as a source and aggravating factor in the blaze. In a report published here on AT 5 days ago, we cited reporting from CBS News that as many as 25 electric vehicles may have been among the more  than 3000 cars being transported from Germany to Egypt. Now comes news that 20 times more battery powered vehicles were on board, via The Truth About Cars:

Photo credit: Netherlands Coast Guard

An enormous vehicle carrier that caught fire at sea earlier this week appears to have far more EVs on board than first suggested.

This ship, christened Fremantle Highway, was first reported aflame off the Dutch coast a couple of days ago. Initial information hinted there were at least 25 EVs on its manifest and that the conflagration likely began at or near one of those cars. Now, reports are surfacing that there could be nearly five hundred electric cars in the ship’s hold, a realization that adds a lot more gravitas to a situation that has already claimed the life of one person and injured scores of others.

A spokesperson for the vessel’s charter told Automotive News their records show 3,783 vehicles in total aboard the ship, about a thousand more than first reported, including 498 battery-electric vehicles. 

While this not conclusive evidence that lithium ion batteries were at fault in the fire, it does raise odds considerably.   And the larger number of batteries involved potentially makes the fire that much more difficult to extinguish,

[T.B. Yoits]

At some point the insurers will stop writing policies.

The "green coalition" communists should be sent the bill for the damage to the environment.

They want to push electric cars, let them pay the bills.

[wafflehouse]

what about the environmental impact?

[cpdiii]

Tow it to deep water. The fires will go out when it sinks.

[zeugma]

I wonder how much longer before shipping companies refuse to handle EVs.

In a sane world, it wouldn't be long at all. Unfortunately, sanity is in short supply.

[Noumenon]

If they keep shipping EVs, their freighters will be in short supply.

[Mean Daddy]

Insurance started in the shipping industry. I would expect that shippers will start limiting the number of EVs per shipment & raise rates increasing the costs of EVs.

[Noumenon]

True. That was Lloyd’s of London. But even one bad battery pack is enough to sink the ship. It’s like a giant unquenchable thermite bomb.

[texas booster]

Updated:

BMW AG’s Rolls-Royce has a small number of its exclusive cars aboard the ship that went up in flames off the Dutch coast a week ago.

The maker of €500,000 luxury vehicles is informing affected clients personally, a spokesperson said Wednesday in an email. While both BMW and Mercedes-Benz Group AG confirmed they have several hundred cars on the Fremantle Highway, neither have offered specific breakdowns by brand or model.

Ouch.

[PLMerite]

Dang. They’re going to have to start insisting on EV-only shipments. That’ll at least minimize the collateral damage.

[texas booster]

Maybe Yellow Freight can get back into business as a carrier for LTL specialty auto shipments.

Maybe the first step is to treat all lithium batteries on a boat like UPS does: No air.

Ground only.

(Not sure how to make that work across the Atlantic or Pacific but ...)

OTOH, wonder how much transocean shipping insurance has gone up for EV cars?

If I had bought a McLaren, a Koenigsegg, a Maserati or a Lamborghini, for a couple of million each, I would request a cargo flight.

[Does so]

“They want to push electric cars, let them pay the bills”

With our money...?

[mewzilla]

This is a hoot...

Burning Questions: Unraveling the Truth Behind Electric Vehicle Fires in Maritime Shipping

And note the use of the word "proven".

(chortle)

[mewzilla]

It gets better...

Fremantle Highway blaze throws electric vehicle risk into sharp relief, say insurers Underwriters call for better detection and extinguishing systems to prevent battery fires from spreading

But didn't the IUMI just assert there were no proven cases...?

[Political Junkie Too]

Salt water is a massive conductor of electricity.

Is transporting 500 electric vehicles with their lithium ion batteries at sea with the salty sea air and dampness and water everywhere really a good idea?

-PJ

[mewzilla]

Oh, boy, on the offloading and salvage issues...

The 500 unburned EVs also pose another risk on the Fremantle Highway

Can they even safely offload the damn things...

[Political Junkie Too]

Is it possible that the salt water can cause a short somewhere in the EV that causes the battery to overheat until it catches on fire?

-PJ

[mewzilla]

Totally safe.

Just ask the IUMI.

See my links above.

(snort)

[SauronOfMordor]

All the EV industry needs now is for an EV to catch fire on board a crowded ferry.

[mewzilla]

I’ll just toss this in, from the UK, for a couple of reasons...

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12401887/Rochford-fire-Inferno-rips-200-vehicles-Essex-scrapyard-dozens-firefighters-rush-tackle-blaze.html

There were EVs and hybrids on that lot.

The DM never mentions it.