Fire on Fremantle Highway: danger from electric cars
After a fire broke out on the cargo ship ‘Fremantle Highway’ loaded with electric cars off the Dutch coast at the end of July, the debate about the safety of e-car transport is once again in the spotlight. The ship was engulfed in flames for hours and the fire was extremely difficult to extinguish. A similar incident occurred in February 2022, when the car freighter ‘Felicity Age’ went up in flames. There were also a number of electric cars on board. In the end, the ship sank with 4,000 cars on board. Following the recent events, the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) has already announced that it will tighten the current regulations for the transport of electric cars.
Whether the fire on board the car freighter ‘Fremantle Highway’ started from one of the loaded electric cars has not been proven. What is clear, however, is that electric cars transported on freighters are difficult or impossible to extinguish in the event of a fire. One reason for this is the ‘thermal runaway’ of lithium-ion batteries: If the lithium-ion batteries become too hot, a self-reinforcing chemical process occurs, at the end of which there is a fire and possibly even an explosion of the battery. Oxygen is released from the lithium-ion batteries themselves so that the fire cannot be smothered. In addition, the rainproof bodywork also largely protects the installed lithium-ion batteries from extinguishing water.
We at RETRON do not (yet) have a solution for fully assembled cars. However, for anyone who needs to store, transport or dispose of lithium-ion batteries, we offer fireproof safety containers in various sizes: From the RETRON BOX for smaller electrical appliances and lithium-ion batteries at home to the RETRON 4000, in which you can store and transport large e-car batteries. These are built so safely that they are even UN-certified and approved for the transport of damaged lithium-ion batteries.
