Coast Guard Suspects EV Source of Ongoing Fire Aboard Cargo Ship

One crew member was killed in the fire while other crew members jumped off the ship to escape the blaze.

Andrew BeckfordWriterGetty ImagesPhotographerStaff PhotosPhotographer

When showing up to a major dealership and looking out upon rows and rows of shiny brand new cars ready for sale, it might be easy to take for granted how they got there. While it's true that many foreign automakers have factories in America and other countries, many of them still have to ship vehicles to countries on other continents. That means putting a bunch of cars on a large boat and sending it across the ocean. Which, while generally safe, isn't without risk.

According to anAutomotive Newsreport viaReuters, a cargo ship carrying 2,857 vehicles caught fire off the Dutch coast while on route to Egypt from Germany. Of the 23 crew members on the ship, one died while several others were injured. Some crew members even jumped overboard to escape the fire which reportedly rapidly spread throughout the ship. The remainder of the crew were airlifted off the boat by a rescue helicopter. Approximately 350 of the cars on board are Mercedes-Benz vehicles, but the automaker hasn't disclosed what models were on board; it's unclear what other makes and models are onboard.

As far as what caused the blaze, no definitive cause has been given. According to an unnamed coast guard official, it is suspected that an EV battery fire is the culprit as there were 25 EVs on board. It is unclear if any of those EVs are Mercedes-Benz vehicles or are from other automakers. The ship has been towed away from shipping lanes and may eventually sink, taking nearly 3,000 vehicles into the depths with it. The ship is nearly 10 years old and can carry up to 4,000 vehicles total, so this wasn't simply a factor of overloading.

Salvage experts are currently working out the best course of action for the ship and probably trying to figure out if the remaining vehicles on board can be saved.

Andrew Beckford’s passion for cars started as a middle schooler when his friend Richie explained how an internal combustion engine works. He was bitten by the bug and the rest, as they say, is history. He dug deep into the tuner scene and eventually wrote for Turbo Magazine, Import Tuner, Super Street. He covered car shows, feature builds, and reviewed racing games for those magazines in addition to covering motorsports including Formula Drift, Indy Car, and F1 for his personal blog. Eventually Beckford joined MotorTrend to cover the daily automotive news beat. Besides being a gearhead, Beckford has been a gamer since the ’80s and is a huge fan of the arcade racing games of the ’90s like Daytona USA, SEGA Rally, and Ridge Racer. Beckford’s a movie buff as well, especially comic book films from DC and Marvel. When car culture crosses over with gaming and entertainment, rest assured Beckford is aware of it. In addition to serving as a consultant on a “triple A” racing titles, he’s reviewed major racing games such as Forza Motorsport, Need for Speed, Gran Turismo, F1, and more. He’s also interviewed blockbuster directors including Steven Caple Jr. (Transformers: Rise of the Beasts) and Neill Blomkamp (Gran Turismo). His biggest profile to date was with Robert Downey Jr. on his love affair with cars and his show Downey’s Dream Cars on MAX. Beckford’s profile of Downey Jr. was the first print cover story written by an African American in MotorTrend’s history. Along with KJ Jones, Andrew Beckford also heads up MotorTrend’s celebration of Black History Month by spotlighting diverse voices in the automotive industry and motorsports. Beckford’s first car was a 1982 Nissan Stanza affectionately named “Stanley” by his late mother.

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