Maritime transport faces an increasingly worrying challenge as electromobility gains ground in the automotive industry. The growing proliferation of electric cars has generated a problem that shipping companies and merchant ships cannot ignore: the risk of fire linked to the lithium batteries that power these vehicles.
This risk became evident in an incident that occurred in winter last year with the freighter Felicity Ace near the Azores Islands. The ship, which was carrying nearly 4,000 cars from renowned brands such as Porsche, Audi, Volkswagen, Bentley, Land Rover and Lamborghini, capsized on March 1 after suffering a fire. The fire has been speculated to have been sparked or aggravated by the lithium batteries in some of the electric vehicles it was transporting.
This episode raises serious concern in the shipping industry and underlines the need to effectively address the risks associated with charging electric cars on ships. In this sense, the International Maritime Organization (IMO), the United Nations agency in charge of establishing the regulations that regulate safety at sea, is studying a proposal “to evaluate the suitability of the means of protection, detection and extinction of fires ” in the ro-ro cargo area. The study aims to “reduce the risk of fire on board ships carrying new energy vehicles.”
The safety protocols for transporting electric cars applied by shipping companies are not limited only to large cargo ships popularly known as 'Ro-Ro'. In Spain, the ferries that cover the routes to the Balearic Islands and the Canary Islands have also had to adapt their procedures to guarantee the safety of the transport of these electric vehicles.
The shipping company Trasmed, belonging to the Grimaldi Group, a world leader in maritime transport of ro-ro cargo, actively participates in a European working group called Lash Fire. This organization specialized in the study of fires on 'Ro-Pax' type ships (ro-ro passenger ships) develops safety, preventive and risk assessment measures on this type of transport.
Although Trasmed sources assure Moveo that it has been demonstrated “with real tests” that fires derived from electric vehicles "do not differ significantly in their level of danger from those generated by cars with traditional engines", the shipping company has taken preventive measures to guarantee safety on their ships.
Trasmed, as a precautionary measure, does not offer the vehicle charging service during the journey and covers all electric cars with fire blankets so that, in the event of a fire, the fire does not spread to other neighboring cars. The ships are equipped with a novel mobile water mist spray system, specially designed to attack the fire that is generated in the lower part of the electric vehicles, the place where the lithium ion batteries that cause this type of fire are located. .
In another point of the protocol, it is highlighted that Trasmed has provided the personnel who carry out security rounds with portable gas detectors and portable thermographic guns for constant monitoring of temperatures of the electric vehicles stowed on board. The company also has activated operational and safety procedures, training and periodic exercises for its crews, focused on fighting electric vehicle fires.
Finally, the Grimaldi Group shipping company reports that it has a CCTV video surveillance system on board, which monitors the different cargo decks in real time, which is supervised from the wheelhouse 24 hours a day.
The adoption of these safety measures on all its ships allows Trasmed to maintain its commitment to “the transition to eco-efficient means of transport” and does not contemplate the prohibition of the transport of electric vehicles “on any of its ships,” says a source from the company.
This situation contrasts with the experience lived a few days ago by a passenger who intended to travel with his electric car on the Ciudad de Valencia ferry, owned by the shipping company Armas Transmediterránea, which covers the route between Gran Canaria and Cádiz. He acquired a ticket for which he paid more than 600 euros, but they did not allow him to enter with his car, an MG4 Electric. The shipping company argued that the ship does not comply with the protocol for transporting electric vehicles.
On the other hand, other 'Ro-Pax' ships of the Armas Transmediterránea shipping company do comply with the fire safety protocols for electric vehicles. These ships can transport zero-emission vehicles without problems on their routes through the Canary Islands and the south of the Strait of Gibraltar.
