Cruise Line Refuses to Transport EVs, Hybrids As a consequence of Hearth Threat

One of many issues which have turn into more and more obvious with the rise of electrical automobiles is that when they catch on hearth, these fires are extremely troublesome to extinguish. That is true of absolutely geared up hearth crews on dry land, however think about if a type of fires occurred inside a ship at sea.

It’s not that tough to think about, as a result of it occurred to the Felicity Ace cargo ship final yr. The great factor was that, being a cargo ship, the variety of crew on board was comparatively minimal. What if it occurred on a cruise ship? That’s the query that Norwegian cruise line Havila Kystruten requested of consulting agency Proactima AS when the Norwegian authorities requested it to begin hauling automobiles on a few of its coastal cruise ships. The reply, as reported recently by Maritime Executive, was “completely not.”

Proactima AS decided that although the ships had been state-of-the-art and able to dealing with a petrochemical hearth, the danger of lithium or perhaps a hydrogen hearth was too nice to justify. Additional, if one did occur, the percentages of placing it out with out it endangering the lives of passengers weren’t well worth the danger. It’s because a lithium hearth, along with burning extremely scorching, additionally produces lots of poisonous vapors.

Havila’s model new ships use lithium storage batteries themselves, however the distinction between these and the battery cells in a shopper EV is critical. For instance, maritime rules state {that a} ship using these has to have them in a separate fire-proof room with a hearth suppression system designed particularly for the battery kind getting used.

Will this resolution by Havila Kystruten have an effect on different ferries or transport ships? Will, for instance, the Washington State Ferry system place restrictions on hauling EVs? What precautions will massive transport ships take to maintain a scenario just like the one we noticed on the Felicity Ace from taking place once more?

We reached out to Havila Kystruten for remark however didn’t hear again in time for publication.