Large US shipping company refuses to carry electric cars after cargo ship carrying 3,000 new cars sinks

A large US shipping company is officially refusing to carry electric cars as part of its cargo.

Matson made the announcement amid rising concern about the safety of transporting EVs.

It comes just a few weeks after a cargo ship carrying 3,000 electric cars sank off the coast of Alaska after a fire broke out.

This decision could be a turning pont in the auto industry.

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Hawaii-based shipping company bans electric cars

According to the US Coast Guard, electric cars were partly, if not fully, responsible for the fire that led to the Morning Midas cargo ship sinking off the coast of Alaska in June.

And it has led one American shipping company to officially refuse to transport electric cars on its ships.

Matson, Inc. is a transportation company based in Honolulu, Hawaii, USA.

Due to its location in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, Matson serves a vast swathe of areas in the Pacific.

In a statement to news.com.au, Matson outlined its reasons for the ban on electric cars.

Citing safety concerns, Matson said that it is ‘suspending acceptance of used or new EVs…aboard its vessels’.

Matson decision follows fire incidents onboard ships

The Morning Midas cargo ship eventually sunk off the coast of Alaska after a fire started while transporting 3,000 electric cars.

It was in the process of transporting the electric cars to a port somewhere in Mexico.

Having left port from Yantai, China in May, it was on its way to Mexico on June 3 when the crew sent out a distress call from the ship.

The US Coast Guard believed that the fire broke out as a result of batteries on one of the electric cars onboard.

Unfortunately, the crew of the Morning Midas was unable to stop the fire.

As a result, the decision was taken to abandon the ship, with all 22 crew members safely evacuated. The post Large US shipping company refuses to carry electric cars after cargo ship carrying 3,000 new cars sinks appeared first on Supercar Blondie.