The carriage of electric vehicles (EVs) onboard ships is becoming a serious worry. In November 2022 there was a serious fire onboard the vehicle carrier Felicity Ace resulting in the vessel sinking. It is thought to be highly likely that the cause of the blaze was an overheated battery on an electric vehicle.

In July of this year there was a massive fire onboard the Fremantle Highway which was carrying 498 EVs. The fire would appear to have originated from one of these vehicles. One crew member lost his life in that tragedy.

Even if these fires were not caused by electric vehicles, a fire elsewhere can cause heating up of the Lithium-ion batteries which will then enter a self-heating state called Thermal Runaway which will end up in a dangerous fire with temperatures up to 2,700 degrees Celsius.

In the meantime around the UK 16 yachts have been destroyed by battery fires.

Some ferry operators are already refusing to accept EVs onboard their vessels due to concerns about the stability.

The shipping industry has a lot to learn about the carriage of EVs before there are many other instances of fire being caused by such vehicles.

It would appear that the carriage of EVs is dangerous and much more scientific research needs to be done before such vehicles can be carried safely at sea.