What happened?
It is believed that many people still have the impression that a car freighter named "Felicity Ace" caught fire and sank not long ago. The freighter carrying nearly 4,000 cars caught fire in the Atlantic Ocean, including Porsche, Bentley Lamborghini The luxury cars, as well as the very classic Honda Prelude sports car and many other models, were buried in the sea with this freighter. Recently, foreign media reported that some auto transport companies have begun to implement restrictions or outright bans on the transportation of electric vehicles, mainly due to concerns about the potential fire risk of batteries.
Japan's Merchant Marine Corp (MOL) is the latest company to say it will stop shipping used electric vehicles.
MOL, one of the world's largest ro-ro shipping companies, caught fire with its 6,400 CEU Felicity Ace and eventually sank in the Azores, making it the biggest shipping accident so far this year, according to accounting firm Vinson & Elkins. The total loss is estimated to be approximately $500 million.
This is also the fourth large ro-ro ship fire involving electric vehicles since 2019.
Why is MOL Stopping Shipping Used Electric Vehicles?
As a standard procedure, MOL inspects transported vehicles prior to shipping to assess for obvious problems that may pose a fire risk, such as fuel or oil leaks. However, these routine inspections are difficult to completely avoid the risk of fire for the current second-hand electric vehicles.
It is worth noting that Mitsui is the owner of the Felicity Ace cargo ship that sank in fire and sank, and the company lost more than 500 million US dollars due to the sinking incident. While the cause of the fire may remain a mystery, an electric vehicle on board is suspected of causing the blaze. However, a spokesman for the company said the new policy had nothing to do with the "Felicity Ace incident." Instead, the spokesperson said, it was a policy review enacted as a result of the increasing number of used electric vehicles the company received for transportation.
It is reported that many other ro-ro shipping companies will also decide to stop shipping used electric vehicles this year.
Aware of the rising risk of electric vehicle fires, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) issued a document last June saying it needed to reassess existing ro-ro ships' firefighting equipment and firefighting measures.
London-based law firm Watson Farley & Williams said in a recent report that while it is unclear whether electric vehicles are more likely to catch fire than conventional cars, it is widely believed that fires in boats carrying them are more catastrophic. , and more difficult to handle. “If the crew is unaware of the different firefighting procedures for electric vehicle fires and conventional fires, total loss is likely. There is evidence that current suppression and drenching systems are not adequate to deal with this new risk. So new designs need to be system and incorporate it into the ship design.”
