Was EV the Cause Behind the Fire of “Fremantle Highway”?

A few days ago, a large cargo ship called “Fremantle Highway” caught fire near the Dutch coast. Many vehicles, including electric vehicles, were among the cargo. With the start of the fire, many climate deniers blamed the electric cars, stating that an electric vehicle caused the fire. Below is our investigation into it.

Social Media Posts

Some social media posts stated that the electric vehicles on board caused the fire on the cargo ship.

Facebook| Archived

Users commented on it like below.

We decided to do a fact-check on this.

Fact Check

The international media have reported the incident in various ways. Even the global media, like Daily Mail, said in the headline, “Race to salvage sinking cargo ship carrying 3,000 vehicles including 350 Mercedes as it burns out of control in North Sea after fire ’caused by electric car’”. However, in the content, they are not exactly saying it happened due to the electric vehicles, and they say about an electric car that is believed to be behind the fire. The Daily Mirror report can be read here. Archived

The Dutch coastguard said on its website that the cause of the fire was unknown, but an emergency responder had heard in a recording released by Dutch broadcaster RTL saying, “The fire started in the battery of an electric car,” Reuters reported the incident in this way. Reuters report can be read here. Archived

And we also searched the Coastguard’s website and found out there that the statements stating that the cause of the fire were unknown thus far. Furthermore, the Coastguard department has been receiving many questions about the exact number of cars on the Fremantle Highway, yet they cannot confirm the exact numbers.

We also checked the recent reports of the Dutch Coast Guards. However, they still have not mentioned that the reason for the fire was an electric vehicle. In a recent update, they said the fire was still raging. According to them, now, the intensity is low, and they revealed that thanks to the reinforced towage connection, the Fremantle Highway can be towed to a new, temporary anchorage as soon as smoke development and weather forecasts allow. The updates of the Dutch Coast Guards` website can be read here. Archived

According to recent figures from the Bureau of Transportation Statistics and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) of the United States, per 100,000 vehicles sold, hybrid vehicles caught fire the most, with 3,474.5 incidents. Internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles came in second with 1,529.9, and EVs trailed the pack with only 25.1 fires.

A video about this scenario can be watched below.

However, if an electric vehicle is caught into a fire, it`s difficult to extinguish it rather than ICE vehicle. More details about it can be read here. Archived

From the beginning of this ship firing case , there have been lot of misinformation spreading in social media including the rumour that the exact reason for the fire was electric car. More details about it can be read here . Archived  

What we can say so far is that the exact reason for the fire has not been found so far. But, yes, there are views coming from various parties that EVs caused the fire. But, no authorized party has still claimed straightly that the reason for the fire is the electric vehicle. We will update the article according to the new findings of  the investigations.

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