(HONOLULU) — Hawaii’s largest shipping company told customers last week that it won’t ship electric vehicles to the state anymore, Hawaii Public Radio reported. Matson says it’s because of the fire risk of shipping lithium-ion batteries.
Matson told customers in a letter that it will stop transporting not only electric vehicles to Hawaii but also plug-in hybrids because of the fire risk. Last month, a cargo ship carrying 70 EVs and nearly 700 hybrids caught fire 300 miles south of Alaska. Smoke was first seen from the EV car deck, but it’s not confirmed that an EV battery was the source of the fire.
Matson said it plans to resume shipping EVs – but only when it has what the company calls appropriate safety solutions that can be put in place. Matson shipped 30,000 vehicles last year, but the exact number of EVs and hybrid vehicles is unknown. Pasha Hawaii reportedly continues to ship EVs.
