QUOTE: An American shipping company [Matson] has banned electric vehicles from travelling on its vessels following a series of fires at sea.

The latest fire saw the Morning Midas car carrier burn at sea for three weeks with more than 3000 cars on board before capsizing and sinking to a depth of more than 16,000 feet near Alaska.

A statement issued by the company said that “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,” it said.

I can't say I blame them.

A week or two ago, the NSW Government raised the prospect of banning electric bikes and scooters from Sydney's rail network, again due to many cases of spontaneous combustion. The quality is so poor that I am amazed there aren't more restrictions on them already and I am wondering why new homes with garages incorporated into the main dwelling aren't required to be fireproofed - commercial buildings are compartmented with fireproof walls and doors with either a 1 or 2 hour rating, depending on the area.

Body cororates are refusing to allow charging of electric cars in appartment basements because of the fire risk, not the least because fire brigade vehicles cannot get into the basement.