A major Hawaiian shipping company halted electric vehicle (EV) deliveries over concerns that their batteries may catch fire on board, according to multiple reports.
The company, Matson, reportedly wrote to its customers that it would stop EV deliveries just weeks after a shipping carrier transporting EVs erupted into flames and sank, according to multiple reports. Lithium-ion batteries frequently used in EVs are known to be highly flammable and have been linked to disastrous maritime fires in the past.
“Due to increasing concern for the safety of transporting vehicles powered by large lithium-ion batteries, Matson is suspending acceptance of used or new electric vehicles (EVs) and plug-in hybrid vehicles for transport aboard its vessels. Effective immediately, we have ceased accepting new bookings for these shipments to/from all trades,” the letter reads, according to The Maritime Executive.
Matson is Hawaii’s most prominent shipping company, according to multiple reports. The company reportedly wrote that it plans to resume EV deliveries once “appropriate safety solutions that meet our requirements can be implemented.”
The Morning Midas, a ship owned by another shipping company, sank off the coast of Alaska after catching fire just weeks before Matson reportedly sent its letter. The vehicle carrier went down with around 3,000 cars, including 800 EVs, a majority of which were made in China. A complete investigation probing what caused the fire on the Morning Midas could take several weeks or even months, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Another cargo ship carrying around 4,000 luxury vehicles and EVs sank in 2022 after catching aflame, which was suspected to have been started by lithium-ion batteries.
Notably, the insurance company Allianz recently released a report detailing the risks of shipping lithium-ion batteries, warning of multiple recent maritime fire incidents.
Many Democratic leaders have prioritized promoting EVs, including former President Joe Biden, who introduced new regulations and tax credits to encourage their production. California Democrats were also gunning to ban the sale of new gas-powered vehicles in the state and several others by 2035 before President Donald Trump signed resolutions to block the de facto national EV mandate.
Matson did not respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s multiple requests for comment.
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