Lawsuits initiated post maritime disaster involving a vehicle-laden vessel. - Initiating legal action for seeking reimbursement of damaged vehicles
In February 2022, the freighter Felicity Ace, carrying approximately 3,965 vehicles from the Volkswagen Group, including luxury brands like Porsche, Audi, Lamborghini, Bentley, and Volkswagen, caught fire in the Atlantic, about 170 kilometers off the coast of Faial, an Azorean island. The fire, which burned for nearly a week before the ship sank on March 1, has led to a contentious legal battle, with strong suspicions pointing towards self-igniting lithium-ion batteries in electric vehicles (EVs) onboard contributing to the blaze.
The exact cause of the fire remains unconfirmed, but the incident has reignited concerns about the risks associated with shipping EVs with lithium-ion batteries, particularly due to the challenges in firefighting once lithium-ion battery fires occur on ships. The fire persisted despite the deployment of salvage teams and firefighting tugs, suggesting that once thermal runaway occurs in lithium-ion batteries, fires are extremely difficult to extinguish and prone to reignition, severely complicating containment efforts at sea.
The ongoing trial at the Braunschweig Regional Court in Germany is centred around the sinking of the freighter, with both parties claiming that careful action could have prevented the disaster. However, the nature of these battery fires makes them hard to control if they start onboard, indicating that while preventive measures might reduce risk, the fires can be uncontrollable once they have begun.
The incident has sparked debate about the adequacy of current shipboard fire suppression technology against EV battery fires, and has prompted scrutiny of shipping protocols, cargo declarations, and fire safety equipment on car carriers. The catastrophic event serves as a reminder of the urgent need to address these shipping hazards, as similar incidents involving lithium-ion batteries in EVs have occurred in the past, such as the 2025 Morning Midas fire off Alaska.
The trial is ongoing, with the parties also disputing the exact amount of damage caused by the sinking. Nevertheless, the Felicity Ace incident underscores the importance of improving safety protocols and developing more effective fire mitigation technologies for the shipping industry, particularly in the context of the growing trend of EV adoption.
- In light of the ongoing trial, there is an increasingly intense debate about the necessity of updating community law to address the challenges and risks associated with the shipping of electric vehicles (EVs) in the industry, particularly regarding fire suppression technology and safety equipment on car carriers.
- As the issue of lithium-ion battery fires on EVs has become a significant concern for the transportation sector, finance institutions are closely watching the Felicity Ace incident, with potential implications for insurance premiums and risk assessment strategies related to the automotive industry.
