Moving electric cars and their plug-in hybrid relatives across the globe became a little more difficult this summer. Earlier this month, U.S.-based shipping company Matson announced it will no longer transport EVs and plug-in hybrid vehicles in its vessels, as first reported by The Maritime Executive. Matson's reasoning: the hazardous material classification of EV and PHEV's lithium-ion batteries.
Matson is a 143-year-old shipping company based in Honolulu, Hawaii, which provide the ability to ship cars between the mainland of the United States, Hawaii, Guam, and Alaska. Their fleet of vessels includes container ships, combination container, and roll-on/roll-off ships and barges. None of them will transport EVs and PHEVs at this time.
On the FAQ page of the Matson website, they note a couple of interesting vehicle exceptions, including height and width restrictions and even an unusual policy that states “No Corvette or Camaro may be shipped eastbound from Hawaii or neighbor islands to the mainland.” (We suspect this may have something to do with the large number of U.S. military personnel serving in Hawaii.) But perhaps the most restrictive is the answer to the question about Matson shipping electric or plug-in hybrid electric vehicles.
“Matson does not transport battery-powered electric or plug-in hybrid electric vehicles due to the hazardous material classification of their lithium-ion batteries. Lithium-ion batteries have a high energy density and are classified as hazardous materials under both domestic and international regulations. Because of this high energy density, fires involving electric and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles are much more dangerous than combustion engine vehicles.”
According to The Maritime Executive, this ban is not expected to be permanent. Matson has sent a letter to customers that reads, “Matson continues to support industry efforts to develop comprehensive standards and procedures to address fire risk posed by lithium-ion batteries at sea and plans to resume acceptance of them when appropriate safety solutions that meet our requirements can be implemented.”
Severe blazes on car carriers have occurred several times in recent years, most notably a 2019 incident on a ship called Felicity Ace that was carrying roughly 1100 Porsches and nearly 200 Bentleys. Just last month, a car-carrier ship known as the Morning Midas containing approximately 750 hybrid and electric vehicles burst into an inferno when a fire swept through the cargo area. Efforts to put the fire out were unsuccessful, and while the crew was rescued, the ship eventually sank about 450 miles off the coast of Alaska.
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